The Real World: Titans Tower
by Pivitor
Summary: This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower.
1. The Seven Strangers

OOC: DC Comics has over 70 years worth of continuity—backstory affecting all their characters that needs to be adhered to in all future stories. In order to tell ongoing stories without being bogged down by continuity, DC Created the "All Star" line of comics, series based on iconic characters but ignoring continuity. Marvel has a similar concept called the "Ultimate" line.

In this vein, the story you are about to read is, in a sense, "All Star Teen Titans". It is a re-imagining of the classic "The New Teen Titans" series by Marv Wolfman and George Perez—in a sense, the animated series could be considered the exact same thing. Some things will stay the same—and many things will differ—so as a warning to all readers: don't get caught up in continuity ;)

DISCLAIMER: I did not create most of the characters in this story—though some different takes are all mine. Those honors belong mostly to Marv Wolfman and George Perez, as well as the talented writers who have used the characters in recent years, such as Geoff Johns and the staff of the animated series.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

A.k.a.…

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Episode One: The Seven Strangers**

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

It was simply a bus station in San Francisco, yet those surrounding it hoped it would be the start of something huge—a show of epic proportions. A crew spiraled around the street, cameras both littering the ground and elevating far above the pavement, making sure every possible angle was covered. They needed every single shot they could get to make sure they could meld this show into the masterpiece they needed. If all went well, this would be the reality TV show to end all reality TV shows.

Standing on the sidelines, director Loren Jupiter grinned. Months and months of hard work had gone into bringing his baby to life, and finally he was about to see all his planning come to blissful fruition. No matter how "super" those other shows were, they couldn't top a show with real super_heroes._

The chug of a diesel engine snapped the man from his thoughts, and Jupiter knew the time had come. "Places, everybody!" he yelled as he moved backwards, his finger looming over a button that emerged from his sleeve. The airborne cameras panned further towards the sky as those on the ground pulled back, leaving as much space as possible for the new arrivals.

After all, if there was one thing these heroes were known for, it was collateral damage.

"Okay," Jupiter began, speaking with baited breath. His gloved finger pressed down on the button, and instantly millions of dollars worth of technology blended the crew into their surroundings, invisible to the naked eye.

"ACTION!"

**ON THE AIR**

A tractor trailer roared down the street, its side decorated in the gaudy colors and pictures of clowns and acrobats. A bright emblem proudly proclaimed that the truck belonged to Haley's Circus, a popular act that had toured everywhere from San Francisco to Gotham with much acclaim. However, nothing had been the same since that fateful night seven years ago when they had lost their star attractions with the snap of just one line.

The back of the truck rolled up with a whirr, and though one might think that the vehicle would be full of equipment or animals—because clowns travel in tiny cars, no?—it was instead filled with almost all the staff of the circus.

"We're gonna miss ya, kid," the strong man crooned, sadness plainly evident in even his gruff voice. "It just won't be the same without our star attraction."

"Yeah," replied a smooth, confident voice. "I was, wasn't I?"

"Of course you were," a calm, motherly voice replied as the owner's wife took hold of a sixteen year old boy and squeezed him close. "Now give it your best, Dick. Make us proud!"

"Is there any way I couldn't?" the boy replied in that same confident tone as he took flight, leaping from the back of the truck, somersaulting four times through the air and landing elegantly with his cape flapping behind him.

Dick was clad from head to toe in red leather, with black boots and gloves and that odd brief-like segment of clothing that nobody quite knew what to call. He wore a yellow belt lined with various sized pockets, and a yellow 'R' rose from a black circle on the right side of his chest. A black collar protected his neck and attached his expansive cape to his body—black on the back and yellow on the interior, the garment sprawled far behind him and ended in jagged scallions.

Black hair stuck out in all directions from his head, no doubt the combined effort of twenty minutes and half a jar of hair gel. A black domino mask covered his eyes, but nothing could cover the cocky grin that he wore with pride. Dick Grayson straightened his back as he resumed proper posture from his landing, and his smile only grew wider.

"Though I dunno…" The circus-folk were confused—Dick wasn't confident? However, a twinkle in the teen's eye told them everything in their world wasn't as amiss as it seemed. "I don't think these guys can take my best!"

Haley's Circus broke into applause, the owner's wife bursting into tears as the doors of the truck slowly rolled shut. However, before they closed, Dick had one more thing to add.

"The Robin is ready to fly!" he announced.

_Much later, Robin is sitting in a room, by himself, except for a camera. This is the confessional, where these young heroes will be encouraged to express their innermost feelings and thoughts about the events during their stay on the team._

_Robin: "Man, they loved that. Robin. I don't get why. It's a kid's name. The press has been calling me that since my first day on the trapeze—hell, I must've been only five—and it's time to grow up._

_"I wanted _Nightwing._ Now there's a hero's name—but no, the producers said it sounded too much like something Superman would come up with. I don't get that one—I'm no boy scout. And I'm certainly no _boy_."_

Robin scanned the area, surprised that he was the first one there—and disappointed as well. He had hoped to make a grand entrance, to impress his new housemates from the get-go, but no dice. The only person even on the street was a girl standing beneath the plastic shelter of the bus stop.

_Robin: "So it's this cute little blonde, nothing to write home about but at least a six, and I figure, hey, if I can't impress these guys with my entrance, I'll impress them by finding a girl before they even get here!"_

"'Sup, sweet thing?" Dick asked, suddenly looming behind the girl creepily. "Ever dated a super hero before?"

The girl gave him a quick scan and wasn't impressed. "Don't super heroes wear tights?"

"Well now," laughed Dick as he rapidly searched for a reply, "If I wore tights I'd have every girl on the street following me like puppies! With the leather I keep it subdued—but still a bit kinky," he added as he raised his eyebrows.

_Robin: "You can't say they wouldn't! But, if the girl wants tights she should have seen my old circus uniform—short pants and pixie boots would have been an even better view!"_

With the roll of her eyes the girl quickly tried so shake the lecherous hero off. "I like girls, not guys," she lied, going with a tried and true mojo-buster.

"Perfect," Robin cooed without missing a beat. "You can invite a friend."

"I believe you mistake arrogance for charm," accused an unearthly voice. Dick turned to the source, only to find a monstrous black creature looming above him. As quickly as it had appeared it shrank until it was nothing but a black cloak blowing in the wind. A blue and red clasp held shut a hood that projected a bizarre shadow over the wearer's pale face. Both her eyes glowed white.

Robin's fist clenched, as the teen was unsure whether this was a new housemate or an enemy who had yet again beaten his future allies to the punch.

"Yet your fear is real, even though you do an admirable job of hiding it," the hooded girl continued.

"What—what are you? How—"

"I am Raven," she said, "and I am an empath. I know what you feel before you even know yourself."

Raising one eyebrow, Robin mumbled, "Creepy."

"I know," she replied. "It does not bother me anymore."

_Raven: "I can feel his ignorance. The boy craves the spotlight. He does not understand what it is like to be feared, to be hated. After all, I did not become this way because I wished to be."_

"Well, I see you guys are getting off on the right foot," laughed another voice, its entrance accompanied by a far off sonic boom, the shattering of windows, and a fierce wind that nearly blew Robin off his feet. Eerily enough, the floating Raven didn't move.

The girl Dick had been hitting on screamed and ran, now realizing what those guys with the camera had warned her about when they let her wait there for the bus. Meanwhile, as the former circus-star regained his bearings, he saw standing before him a glowing, humanoid figure of yellow, the air shimmering around it.

"So," Robin smiled, not thrown off this time, "You the next housemate I'm guessing?"

An upturned line of white appeared across the bottom of the creatures face. "Figure that out all on your own?" it asked, clearly with a male's voice. He extended his hand, electricity flaring from his arm. "I'm Wally West, but everybody calls me Speed—when I stop long enough for them to see me, that is."

A laugh escaped the first teen's mouth even as he reached to return the gesture. "Speed? Like the dru—"

"No, not like the drug," Speed snapped.

_Speed: "And not like the movie with Sandra Bullock either…_

_"Cause I've gotten that before. I think I punched the guy."_

As Dick shook Wally's hand, he noticed a tingle moving through his body. The new arrival didn't feel _human_—it was as if he was only a shell. Instantly Speed's forearm seemed to dissolve as Robin was blown backwards, leaving twin trails of fire in his wake.

Sputtering as he pulled himself out of a wall, Robin smiled. "Fancy trick there, druggie."

_Speed: "And I think we have our wannabe tough guy, ugh…though he'll be fun to screw with at least."_

_Raven: "Robin's constant posturing is already wearing on my nerves—though Speed's repressed anger is more worrisome. I can feel it, just barely held back, ready to erupt at any moment."_

"Just what the _hell_ are you anyway?" Dick continued as he stared incredulously at the speedster's arm. At the elbow it seemed to trickle into nothing more than a sparking trail of golden, fluctuating energy vaguely shaped like his forearm. "It's like your arm is melting!"

"It is not his arm," Raven stated, seemingly appearing from nowhere between the two boys—sending a shiver up Dick Grayson's spine. "Speed is shaping energy to _appear_ like his arm—the rest of him is energy compressed into a body-like shell. As far as I can _tell_ he has no corporeal body of his own, yet…" The empath paused as the white energy leaked from her eyes and into the sky like dual trails of smoke.

"…Yet his spirit still exists within the mass of energy."

_Speed: "Creepy. She needs to keep her…whatever…to herself."_

Robin looked confused, though not necessarily by Raven's analysis. "Corporeal? What the…"

_Raven: "I would buy the boy a dictionary if I believed he would read a book without pictures."_

"I'm made of the Speed Force," Wally elaborated, knowing the producers would require him to give an explanation if nothing else. Robin growled in frustration, but Speed continued before the acrobat could even begin to ask what in the world that was. "It is a limitless realm of speed that provides all worlds with their momentum, inertia, _speed._

"That Flash guy in the JLA draws his super-speed from the Speed Force, but I _am_ that source. I could run circles around that poser—or leave him so slow that even _you_ could."

_Robin: "Hm, I wonder how many times he's called me arrogant in here already, yet…"_

Wiping dust from his shoulder, Robin just snickered. "Sure, I bet you could—that stuff packs a punch though. Almost hurt me."

"The Speed Force can't 'pack a punch'," Wally growled. "It is nothing but _speed_. I just sent you running into that building." A snarl escaped his fluctuating energy lips. "Don't make me make you so fast that you go flying off into _outer space._"

And not even five minutes into the first episode, two Titans were ready to come to blows. They were knocked back by wings of pure darkness enveloping them, the black appendages growing from Raven's cloak as if it had a life of its own. Robin and Speed were helpless, almost drowning in the seas of inky energy.

"Calm _down!_" Raven commanded, and in response her two new teammates finally backed off, as if the aggression was almost sucked out of their bodies. With a flap the mysterious girl's cloak again enclosed her body as the darkness dissipated.

_Robin: "Okay, bossy chicks are bad enough, but when they have the power to actually MAKE YOU DO WHAT THEY WANT then that REALLY SUCKS!"_

"The show has barely _started_," she continued with a huff. "At least wait until we're all together before ripping each other apart again—I sense they are near."

As always the empath was right, and a far off roar filled their ears. "It sounds like a jet," Wally exclaimed, confused as he looked into the air, "but all I see are two girls, just _floating _there!"

"Holy s---," Dick gasped, a smile growing on his face, "it's an invisible plane!"

_Speed: "Break out your buzzers, censors, it's gonna be a wild ride!"_

With another roar the transparent aircraft soared even _more_ out of sight, leaving a lone figure that fell to the ground with grace and elegance. Her jet-black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, with loose strands falling across her pretty face. She wore black high-heeled boots that nearly rose to her knees—above that were blue tights with a white star on each thigh. A golden eagle adorned the chest of her red tank-top with a plunging neckline—across her waist was a gold band with a stylized 'w' in the center and a shining, golden lasso hanging from the belt. Glistening, metallic bracelets covered nearly her entire forearms.

Speed raised a newly formed eyebrow in interest at the new arrival while Robin simply stared at the girl with a lovelorn, puppy-eyed expression—and though her face was perpetually hidden, it was likely that even Raven was impressed.

"So, I'm guessing you're my new team?" The girl ventured cheerfully. "Sorry I'm a little late, but my sister just couldn't say a short goodbye. I'm Donna Troy, but you can call me—"

"WONDER GIRL!" Robin exclaimed as he dashed to Donna's side, taking her delicate hand in his and giving it a light kiss. "World famous younger sister of the equally stunning Wonder _Woman_, and a protector of downtrodden children everywhere."

Wally laughed as he witnessed Dick's annoying confidence melt away into fanboyish lust. "I've been a fan of yours since you first started heroing! I have all your posters!"

_Robin: "Though they're all a bit sticky_."

_Wonder Girl, Speed, and Raven (simultaneously, with the screen split into three equal pieces): "Please don't say that they're sticky!!"_

"I'm—I'm flattered," stammered Wonder Girl, who was used to enamored males but _not_ ones within the hero community—well, perhaps save for one other. "Um, who are _you_ though? I never remember seeing a hero quite like you before—and this is coming from a person who's been to Justice League meetings before!"

_Speed: "Great, it's little miss 'self-righteous-big-name-super-hero!'"_

_Raven: "I can sense Speed's feelings, but Wonder Girl is not looking down on us, nor is she thinking too highly of herself. She is simply…confused."_

"That's 'cause I'm brand new on the scene," answered Robin with a smile so large it filled the entire bottom of his face. "Dick Grayson's the name. Maybe you've heard of me? I was the star attraction of Haley's Circus before MTV here hooked me up with the new gear and I got into the crime fighting biz'—you're looking at the only man alive who can perform a quadruple somersault!"

_Robin: "Though there used to be three…before the accident…"_

"So wait…you've never fought a villain before?" Dick shook his head no, and the color started to fade from Wonder Girl's face. "Not even some jewel thief or a mugger?"

The acrobat shrugged. "Well, there was this nutjob who tried to raid the circus's wardrobe department once that I beat up, but other than that…"

With a slight sob Donna buried her face in her palms.

_Wonder Girl: "How could this happen?! I thought this was going to be an all-star teen superhero team! How can all these…novices help me find my parents?!"_

_Raven: "Okay, _now_ she is being self-righteous…"_

"Calm down, gorgeous," Dick said with a smile as he rested his gloved hand on Donna's shoulder. "I know I'm a lot of man to handle all at once, but we get to live in that nice, shiny new tower together for the next few months! You've got plenty of time to adjust!"

An even louder sob emerged from the wailing Amazon.

"Hey, maybe we'll even be roomies! Bet'cha we'll need a new bed each week!"

_Wonder Girl: "Hera, give me strength…I do not know if I can stand Dick Grayson for another minute, let alone months!_

_"Though at least his name is certainly_ appropriate_." _

_Robin: "Great, I made her cry. I hope Wonder Woman doesn't find out or I'm gonna get the s--- beat outta me."_

"Look, just leave me alone, okay?" Donna said, pushing Dick backwards. "This wasn't what I expected and I need a sec, that's all."

Suddenly new voices entered the fray. "Wow, somebody's crying _already!_" exclaimed a lanky boy in a full-body, purple and black uniform—though the unusual thing about the boy was his green skin and hair.

"I told ya you should have flown us here," growled his companion, a large black teenage boy who appeared to be clad in robotic armor—however, his body and the mechanics were actually _one_. Glinting silver machinery covered most of his chest and legs save for the region at the top of his chest beneath his neck. Much of his biceps were still flesh, however his entire forearms were electronic, teeming to the brink with hidden tricks.

The mechanical man's shoulders glowed neon blue, as did the top half of the left portion of his head. A red, robotic eye was directly beneath that, and the other half of his head was still his original flesh, though shaven bald.

"Why should I fly us here?" the green kid returned, frustrated. "We got free bus passes! _Free!_ Why am I tiring my arms out when we can ride for free?! We even got to watch a movie!"

The half-robot rolled his eyes. "Yeah, 'cause we all love direct-to-DVD Disney sequels." Noticing the group that had already assembled, he extended his hand. "Looks like we're a little late—not my fault, the bus hit a cow."

"Poor cow!" Wailed the green boy, rocking on the ground in the fetal position.

"Anyway," continued the frequently interrupted metalman as he extended his arm, "I'm Victor Stone; call me—"

"Can opener?" Robin guessed, returning Victor's handshake. "Or is your codename metalhead? Swiss Army Knife Guy? The Lean, Mean, Fat Reducing—"

Dick Grayson's venture into the naming game was cut off by his hand being crushed. Victor Stone smiled as he released his grip on the acrobat, leaving the boy speechless.

"I was going to say Vic," continued the half-machine, "but the codename they gave me was _Cyborg._"

"Cool name," grunted Robin, still in pain as he cradled his throbbing hand. "Even better kung-fu grip there. That armor packs a punch."

A quick wince of pain crossed Cyborg's face before he regained his rational demeanor. "It's not armor. All this tech is a part of me. My Dad was a scientist at Star Labs, specializing in cybernetic limb replacement for the paralyzed. One day there was an accident that left me half dead…and he rebuilt me into…this.

"So now I'm half-human, half-machine."

_Speed: "Is that a complaint? I'd _kill_ for half human."_

However, not all attention was on the cyborg. "Don't I know you?" Asked Donna Troy, moving her focus to the green kid. Realizing he was finally noticed, he leaped to his feet, his scrawny limbs flailing impossibly.

"Of course you know me, W.G.!" he exclaimed. "It's me—Gar Logan!" Wonder Girl's face showed no signs of recognition. "Um…Beast Boy?...From the Doom Patrol?" Still Donna wore only a blank expression, as if her memory fuse had blown.

Beast Boy pulled at his face, his pointy green ears wiggling, as he tried to figure out why she didn't remember him. "I got it!" he exclaimed, pulling something from the tiny white belt around his even tinier waist. "It's the mask!"

Suddenly Garfield Logan's entire appearance changed as he pulled the tiny mask over his head, covering his green face in purple latex with black ears pointing into the air like antennas.

"Oh, I remember you now!" Donna suddenly exclaimed, as if the spark had finally ignited, hugging the boy. "You're that shapeshifter from that freaky group of superheroes!"

_Beast Boy: "Well, that's one way to put it I guess. I mean, the DP made no big deals about being freaks, but freaks and freaky is completely different…y'know?"_

"Indeed I am!" Gar exclaimed, pushing any negative feelings from Donna's comment to the back of his head. "The amazing Beast Boy—one man zoo—is at your service!"

Leaping into the air, Beast Boy's body shrank and changed shape—by the time he landed on Wonder Girl's shoulder he had become a green squirrel. The young Amazon shrieked and grabbed for the tiny creature, but Gar ran several laps around her neck, evading her grip before scattering to the top of her head.

The squirrel expanded back into Beast Boy, nimbly perched atop Wonder Girl's head. "As long as you don't mind all the animals being green."

Donna was not amused. "Would you _please_ get off my head?"

With a shrug Gar jumped backwards, pulling his mask off as he landed. "I'm done with the mask though. Always looked stupid to begin with—hey Vic! Cn'you take care of this?"

"Sure thing, Gar," replied Cyborg. Beast Boy tossed his old mask behind him, and with a clack Victor Stone's mechanical fingers slid back. Flames leapt from a barrel hidden deep within his palm, incinerating the doofy looking mask in one quick strike. Garfield Logan looked pleased, flashing a full smile that displayed a set of fangs.

"You guys sure are all buddy buddy," Robin observed. "Y'know each other already or something?"

"Well, we met on the bus," Gar said, shrugging. "Does that count?"

_Cyborg: "Really, Gar and me just hit it off. He's a good kid. It's strange though. I'm the one who's kind of less than human, yet I seem more comfortable in my own skin than he does."_

_Raven: "They truly are kindred spirits. I believe Cyborg's influence will be good for Beast Boy. In fact, much to my surprise, of all of us gathered here he might just be the most well adjusted one. Maybe he will be good for all of us._

_"Or at least those of us who still can be saved."_

"So, weren't there supposed to be seven of us?" Cyborg asked, his one bionic eye taking a digital count of each hero present and also calculating heat signatures—just in case there was an invisible hero hiding his presence somewhere. Alas, there were not—though his radar detected a far off blip moving closer, and doing it _fast._

Before anybody could even respond to his question a trail of red landed between the six teenagers, the ground cracking beneath them from the tremendous impact. A bronze skinned beauty rose from the wreckage, her wild red hair flickering behind her head like fire, her eyes eerie pools of deep green. Her clothes left little to the imagination, strips of purple running up her body that covered the essentials but left much of her legs and stomach exposed.

_Speed: "And now we've got our girl gone wild! Stereotypes away!"_

_Beast Boy: "Hubba hubba…"_

_Robin: "I think I had a dream that started like this once…though without all the guys."_

_Cyborg: "This video recorder in my bionic eye is going to come in _very _handy I think…very handy."_

"Am I late?" she asked, her voice not the husky warrior's tone that was expected, but instead higher pitched, laced with purity and innocence. "I was given this map, but I cannot read English and it was rather useless. I have checked every bus station in the city, and I was beginning to give up hope."

"Well _I'm_ sure glad you didn't, babe," smiled Robin as he snuggled close, arm around her shoulders. "You're right on _my_ time."

The girl looked confused. "You have a different time?" The others restrained their amusement, except for Beast Boy who laughed out loud. "And what do you mean by 'babe'? Do you see me as an infant?"

_Speed: "Oh god, how is she not a blonde?"_

_Raven: "Despite appearances, I sense great intelligence and much knowledge within her. Sadly, it is simply information irrelevant to living on Earth."_

"Believe me," Robin continued, unflustered. "You're _no_ infant." His grin grew as he drew a line up her arm with his finger. "Though if you were, I might break a few laws…"

The ground beneath Wonder Girl started to crack as she clenched her body so hard that she drove the heels of her boots straight into the asphalt. "Are you going to treat every girl like that?!"

"Probably not," Raven said. "He's ignored me completely." It wasn't a complaint, simply her again pointing out a fact.

The mens' heads span towards the empath. "You're a _girl?_"

"Sexist _pigs!_" Donna exclaimed, smashing her fists together. "I can't believe I'm stuck with you guys! I'm starting to see why the Amazons abolished all men!"

Her six castmates stared at her, just waiting for the tirade to end. It almost did, until Wonder Girl's eyes again caught glimpse of the new girl, who was paying far more attention to Donna's cries than the perverted teen hanging from her body.

"And how can you let him treat you like that?!" she continued, anger reigniting. "Stand up for yourself!"

The golden-skinned girl calmly moved Robin aside and stepped forward. "Perhaps he is over the top, but the attention is flattering. Would you rather have him lie to us or hide his feelings?"

"No," Donna admitted. "I just want him not to be such a brainless pervert!"

"Well, there are better ways to do so than yelling," she countered. "I've found that if we discuss our differences in a calm way almost any problem can be resolved."

"You go girl!" Gar exclaimed, receiving only silence in return.

_Beast Boy: "Yeah, I know it's lame, but I've always wanted to say that."_

Extending her arm, the scantily clad woman smiled and resumed her statement. "However, I do admire your honesty and enthusiasm. My name is Koriand'r…though I believe in your language I would be called 'Starfire.'"

Donna returned the alien's handshake hesitantly, embarrassed at the lecture. The others gathered around and began introductions, many having only met half the team. In fact, only Robin had been there for all their arrivals, and now he was instead dividing his time between ogling Starfire and ogling Wonder Girl.

"Welcome, my Titans!" cried a man from the sidelines. Seemingly appearing from nowhere, he paced into the middle of the crowd of seven super powered teenagers. His hair curled wildly from his head—it was obvious that once it was bright red, but the ravages of aging had sent streaks of grey throughout. His clothes looked as if they had been ordered straight from the 1970's—clashing colors checked down his vest and bell bottoms. Thick coke rimmed glasses perched on his nose, so old they had come back into style.

_Starfire: "My, everybody on this planet looks so_ odd_…"_

_Beast Boy: "Dude, it's Austin Powers!"_

"Titans?" Dick asked, one eyebrow rising.

"Of course!" The man continued. "I am Loren Jupiter, the director of this show, and you are my Teen Titans!

"Seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real! You _are_ those teenage superheroes, and you _are_ my Teen Titans!"

_Cyborg: "I don't see where that was so hard to figure out. I mean, it was all in the contract."_

_Raven: "As I said: if it does not have pictures then Robin will not read it."_

"So when do we get to see our new house?!" Beast Boy asked, with enthusiasm so thick it nearly sweated off of him.

_Beast Boy: "It's been a long, long time since I've had a nice house to live in…"_

Loren Jupiter grinned nervously, sneaking a glance at his gaudy watch. _'Where is that idiot?! Damn! I can't have all this dead air!'_

"Right now! I've come to personally escort you all!" Mr. Jupiter waved his hand to the side, like a game show beauty introducing a prize—minus the beauty part—and a giant jet shimmered into sight. It was large enough to fit the entire team, shaped like a giant 'T'.

Garfield Logan's heart nearly exploded from his chest. "So…sweet…" drooled the green boy.

"Sure beats ridin' the elephants, right circus boy?" Speed called towards Robin, chuckling.

"Sorry druggie," countered Dick, "but I never rode the elephants. I mean, who'd want to ride you mom?!"

_Robin: "Oooh, buuuurn"_

_Beast Boy: "Crap, I so could have used that."_

_Wonder Girl: "Totally. Lame."_

"C'mon Wally," gestured Jupiter, tapping the boy on the portion of energy that formed his shoulder. "Even you've got to ride the jet. Can't have you running ahead and stealing the show from everybody, can we?"

With his usual disgruntled remarks Wally West shuffled onto the jet, leaving only Mr. Jupiter outside. He snuck one final, annoyed look towards the sky. _'I hope he isn't expecting to still get paid.'_

Several boosters in the back of the jet roared to life and in a trail of flame the giant T soared towards the seven misfit heroes' new home.

**OFF THE AIR**

"Where are those _brats?!_" cried out a warbling voice in frustration. A figure soared through the air with reckless speed, weaving through buildings like a sports car though traffic. "I've searched every stinking bus station in this stinking city twenty times now!"

Suddenly he saw rising into the air an unmistakable new landmark. Even he knew what it was—and he would have even if he hadn't already been told, too!

"Well, if I can't find them, I'll just have to go wait for them to come to me!"

**ON THE AIR—TITANS ISLAND, SAN FRANSCISO BAY**

Grass rippled beneath the T-Jet as it landed, boosters slowly powering down and a long ramp extending from the door to the ground. Eight figures emerged from the rocket, and the teens were instantly stunned at the sight of their new home. Even Wally didn't have one derogatory thing to say.

A giant tower rose at least ten stories into the sky, again shaped like a capital letter 'T'. The sun reflected off the monument's side, making it glimmer and shine like a thing of true beauty.

"Ouch!" Dick Grayson exclaimed, snapped out of the tower-induced trance as a pain ran up his back. Loren Jupiter pulled a silver device shaped like a hairdryer from Robin's shoulder. "What t'hell are you doing?!"

"Injecting nanobots into your bloodstream," Jupiter said, pushing the device into Donna's shoulder. He ignored her cry and moved to Beast Boy. "Hundreds of thousands of them—creating within you a camera halo!

"From now on all your actions outside the tower will be recorded by the camera halos emanating around your body—it's too dangerous to have the camera crews follow you into battle!"

The shell of energy Speed had formed cracked as the gun shot into his shoulder. "Yes, Wally, before you even speak I'll let you know that I made a special shot for you in which the nanobots will track your consciousness and remain in whatever section of the Speed Force that it inhabits."

_Speed: "Smart-aleck."_

_Robin: "Hey, anybody who can cut down the druggie like that is okay in my book!"_

_Beast Boy: "Wait, so does this mean these things will be, like, taping us when we pee? Eww!"_

"Well," Mr. Jupiter began as he finished the final shot, "What are you waiting for? The tower is yours! Go! Enjoy yourselves! I'll contact you in the morning with your first mission!"

Garfield looked confused. "What, we just go? Explore this thing for ourselves?"

"Why not?" shrugged Loren Jupiter. "The others have already gone inside."

With a gasp Beast Boy span and, seeing the other Titans already inside the tower, sprang into the air as a green falcon, diving for an open window.

Meanwhile, Jupiter simply smiled. It seemed he was truly overjoyed for his show to be taking flight, as it were. Then he laughed at his own pun.

The bird landed on the floor within the letter-shaped tower, growing into the changeling's human form. Gar looked both ways down the long hall and a row of seven rooms. "Our bedrooms!" he exclaimed as he dashed in the first open door.

The smell of burning incense wafted up his sensitive nose, and the green boy found himself immersed in a dark room, flickering candles the only decoration. "A little…creepy I guess, but I can get used to it."

Suddenly even the light of the tiny flames was engulfed by a wave of black that nearly swept Beast Boy off his feet. He shuddered as his body steadily became colder, until white eyes pierced the sheet of darkness and snapped him out of the monotony.

"This is _my_ room," said an odd voice. The wave of pure black retreated into the robes of Raven, her body still remaining unseen. "_Yours_ is at the end of the hall."

"Oh," grumbled Gar as he stumbled out. "Makes sense." A blast of dark energy sent the door slamming shut behind him.

As he made his way down the hall the others were all entering their rooms as well, where their luggage and personal artifacts had already been sent weeks ago. There was a yellow flash as Speed zoomed into his room, the door closing with enough force to send the wall crumbling.

"Yo Gar, can you give me a hand?!" Beast Boy entered Robin's room, finding the boy struggling to open a suitcase. "I over packed a bit, I guess."

_Beast Boy: "Or, you could just be having trouble opening it. Would that be so embarrassing to admit?"_

Both boys gave the clasp a tug and promptly the luggage opened with a bang, sending the two Titans reeling as equipment spewed across the room like a volcano erupting.

Pulling a coil of rope and some handcuffs from atop himself, Garfield stumbled to his feet. "What _is_ all this stuff?"

"MTV sent me all this gear," Dick said with a smile. "They want me to be like the group's Batman or something." The teen laughed. "Like that'll happen. That stiff guy is always brooding in the shadows—at least every time _I've_ seen him on TV—and how can you get the girls or the attention in the shadows?"

_Robin: "Well, unless the _girl_ is hiding in the shadows, but really, wouldn't that mean she was probably ugly? Ew, no thanks."_

"So, do you need some help picking all of it up?" Gar asked as he noticed the equipment completely obscured the floor.

Robin looked confused. "Pick it up? Why would I want to do that? It's not like I'm going to create any giant organization system or anything."

As Dick fell backwards into the gear and started to make snow-angels—or perhaps "gear-angels" would be the more appropriate term—Beast Boy left the room with a sigh and moved on towards his.

Suddenly his heart stopped in its tracks as Starfire stepped into the hallway, seductive no matter how she stood.

"Are you guys ready for dinner?" she called, her red hair flickering behind her like a flame. "I was planning on making us all dinner in celebration of our first night together!"

"Oh boy!" Gar exclaimed.

**LATER—THE KITCHEN**

"Gaah!" Gar exclaimed as he spat the food to the ground. Tears welled in the sides of his eyes as he turned back to the steaming pile of orange and purple sludge on my plate. "What _is_ this stuff?!"

"Tamaranian Rorfloosh. Or I believe in your language it would be called…beetle guts." Beast Boy's already green face turned purple. "On my planet it is a delicacy and reserved only for the most special of occasions."

With one pitiful motion Garfield Logan pushed his plate away. "I don't think I'm hungry anymore," he said weakly.

"I think it's delicious!" Robin exclaimed as he shoveled it in with the boisterous appetite only a teenage boy could have. Koriand'r smiled sweetly and piled more onto his plate.

_Robin: "Then again, I was so busy watching Star-hottie that I couldn't taste any of the goop anyway."_

As Dick piled on the compliments and Starfire reciprocated with even more goop, Wonder Girl took a small, hesitant bite and instantly regretted it. Still, she trudged on and took another. "Gar," she whispered, "you're right, it's horrible. But just be nice and don't hurt her feelings. You can stand it, right?"

The boy shuddered. "Not willingly. I'm a vegetarian." He noticed Cyborg taking a huge bite. "Ah come on, not you too?"

"Grin an' bear it," he said with a smile.

_Cyborg: "Of course, it helps that I turned off my taste-bud circuits after the first bite and sent all the food to a storage device in my stomach so I could dump it later. And Star, if you somehow see this, sorry. But it's nasty."_

Wally West stood behind the table, an angered expression crudely constructed across his unreal face. "Quit whining. At least you can eat at all. I'm just a bunch of living energy—I can't eat! I can't do _anything!_"

_Wonder Girl: "Bitter much?"_

_Starfire: "The first time I heard that, I felt bad for him. However, by the end of the first day when it was all he was saying…it was pretty hard to care. And that's bad coming from me; I _always_ try to care."_

With a small roar of frustration Speed dissolved completely into energy and zoomed from the room, leaving a smoking trail on the floor.

"Why did he even sign up for this?" Donna asked. Beast Boy, meanwhile, was still too affected by the food to even notice his new teammate snap.

"What do _you_ think of the food, Raven?" he asked the empath, who remained oddly silent at the end of the table.

She looked down at her food, and the tip of her cloak enveloped the mush. In a second the darkness dispersed and the food was gone. "I sent it to an alternate dimension," she said quickly. "Perhaps it will suit them."

_Beast Boy: "Wish _I _could do that."_

**AFTERWARDS—THE BEDROOMS**

Garfield Logan's legs were weak as he wandered towards his room for the second time that night, still disgusted by the one bite he'd taken of the…beetle guts. Suddenly he heard a whirring sound and quickly he poked his head into Cyborg's room.

It was white and grey, slick and metallic looking, with computer monitors covering the walls and a slab with wires attached in the center of the room. Eerily enough, it was the teen's bed. However, Gar was concerned with only one thing.

"Are you throwing out all that food?!" he asked loudly as he caught Victor dumping the goop he had supposedly eaten into the trash. "No _wonder _you could eat it so easily!"

Vic waved his robotic arms, trying to calm the tiny changeling. "Take it easy, little guy." Quickly he attempted to change the subject. "What are you doing up here anyway? Going to bed this early?"

"Nah," the boy replied with the wave of his lanky arm, "I was just gonna get my towel and head for the Jacuzzi. Wanna come with?"

"Um," Cyborg looked down at himself, "I'm not exactly waterproof."

Beast Boy smiled. "Then just hang out! You _know_ it's where all the action is on these shows!"

Vic didn't look any calmer. "The two of us? At the Jacuzzi? Doesn't that look kind of…"

_Cyborg: "Not that I'm some homophobe or anything, but there are just some things you don't do. Man laws, if you will."_

"Please," Gar dismissed as he grabbed his friend by the arm, "If there's anybody gay on this show, nobody's going to think it's you. You're already the token black guy."

Rolling his eyes as he reluctantly let himself be pulled from the room, the metal man could only reply with a sarcastic, "Thanks."

A few minutes later and the two were on the tower roof. A purple and red sunset created a beautiful atmosphere, and the tropical plants surrounding the Jacuzzi only added to it. Both were laughing at some joke, not really paying attention to their surroundings until they heard a voice calling.

"Hey guys! Care to join me?"

Garfield Logan and Victor Stone both looked towards the hot tub, and instantly their jaws hit the floor. Starfire sat in the hot water, a drink in her hand—but nothing on her body. Her ample cleavage seemed to float on the water.

A clicking sound came from Cyborg's head as Beast Boy frantically pulled his camera phone from his side.

_Cyborg: "See, I knew this camera in my eye would come in handy."_

_Beast Boy: "Man, I'm going to be the king of YouTube once I post _this _footage!_

"_Wanna know the best part, though? All you guys can see at home are the big, fuzzy censor blobs. You don't know what you're missing!"_

"You bet I do!" the green boy exclaimed as he leapt into the tub, splashing scalding water onto the deck. Even as he spoke to the alien his eyes couldn't move above her chest. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Quite," Koriand'r said as she leaned back. "The jets are most stimulating."

_Cyborg: "Sometimes I wonder if she's really as naïve as she seems. It's all just too good to be true!"_

"A lot of things are tonight," Gar smiled, his words in that range where they're still a little too blunt but at least more subtle than something Robin would have said.

Though he didn't want to risk ending the peep-show, Cyborg was still curious enough to ask questions. "Why aren't you wearing a bathing suit? I mean, I've seen girls show off on here enough before, but you certainly don't seem to need any attention."

"What is a bathing suit?" Starfire asked innocently. "Is there something wrong with the way I'm dressed?"

"Certainly not," Beast Boy was fast to interject. Vic, however, quickly filled her in on a little bit of Earth etiquette.

By the end, the alien was only more confused. "I do not understand. On my planet if we are not wearing our armor we wear nothing at all. Why would I get my garments wet just to hide myself? I am not ashamed of my body."

_Starfire: "So many things do not make sense on this world. Why would I want to hide my body? If anything I thought they'd want to see!"_

"Believe me," began Cyborg, "There's a lot of people who _should_ be ashamed. But, I can see where you're coming from."

Leaning back, Beast Boy wrapped his arms around the orange-skinned beauty's shoulders. "Don't worry about it. Just dress how you want. That's why we're here, right? To do what we want?"

**UPSTAIRS—BEDROOMS**

"Yeah Kyle, I miss you too."

Wonder Girl lay on her mangled comforter, rolling back and forth as she talked on her tiny cell phone—even as an Amazon warrior she had the newest Razr, in pink of course. On the other end of the line, her boyfriend listened, more a shoulder than anything else. Finally there was an opening.

"What, Kyle? Well, there's this kid who used to be in the Doom Patrol, but I'm not sure how good they were. Didn't they all die like five years ago or something? Anyway, besides that they don't seem that impressive, and there's this one jerk that I don't think has even thrown a punch before.

"Yeah, he's _all over_ me. The first thing he told me was about his sticky posters of me—I swear! This isn't anything like I thought it'd be Kyle. I'm starting to think that maybe the JLA aren't all too old for me after all…"

Donna's door hadn't closed all the way, and taking full advantage of that crack was Dick Grayson, standing with is back to the wall and his ear almost in her room.

"Stalker much?"

It was only after recovering from his foot high jump that Robin noticed Speed floating beside him, not even bothering to fully form a body. "I don't get what you see in a b---- like that. She thinks she's so high above us all."

Robin frowned and tried to drown the druggie out. "She just needs to see what I can do, and she'll beg on her hands and knees to stay on the same team as me."

_Robin: "And while she's down there…"_

"You're no better than her," Wally growled. "All of you, arrogant, stupid, self-centered…"

"What's wrong with you?!" countered Dick. "Is there _anybody_ you like? Why did you even sign up for this?!"

That last question elicited a small snicker from the speedster. "You'll see…you'll see." In a flash Speed jetted into his room, not even needing to use a door as he was still made of pure energy.

_Speed: "There's only one reason bird-boy, and hopefully I won't have to wait _too_ long for him to show up."_

"Robin! Why are you standing in the middle of the hallway all by yourself? It is some sort of game?"

With a smile Dick Grayson turned to greet the beautiful alien girl, but the second his eyes caught sight of her bare breasts he was on the floor, drool surrounding his body like blood at a crime scene.

_Beast Boy: "Wow! _I _could handle it but _he_ couldn't?! Sweet."_

_Starfire: "Humans truly have no idea what they want. For their own safety I think this will be the last time I go topless…"_

Koriand'r lifted the boy in her arms and moved towards his room. "I will put him to bed. I imagine he will need the rest to endure the ridicule in the morning?"

"You're catching on," laughed Cyborg.

"Yeah," Gar added with a malevolent grin, "I'm not gonna let him live that down!" Suddenly his smile was swept up in a massive yawn. "I'm liking that bed idea too. I'm out of here."

The three went their separate ways. With an unconscious Robin in her arms, Starfire slowly floated over the coating of equipment and laid the boy in his bed. She left behind a soft smile and the hopes of sweet dreams.

Meanwhile, Raven levitated in the center of her room, cloak and hood still obscuring all features. Her mind was elsewhere, soaring wherever her meditations allowed. She hadn't moved for hours, and wouldn't for hours more. Bedtime meant nothing to her.

Likewise, Speed had no need for rest. Wally West's room was totally empty, simply a cube of four blank walls. As discontented as ever, he barely even remained in the space before he was gone, retreating from the Tower into the Speed Force itself with ease. At least there he had excitement, speed, _something_ besides the constant reminders of all he wasn't.

Victor Stone, on the other hand, was content. He'd made a new friend, started a new adventure, and seen some hot alien boobies. The thought of how freakish he was as he strapped his half-mechanical body down and started inserting wires into himself never even crossed his mind.

Lowering herself into her circular bed, Starfire curled into a tight ball like a cat and instantly fell asleep. Her wild locks lay over her glamorous body, doing a good of a job as any blanket could.

"What?" Donna Troy asked, her phone still gripped tightly in her hands. "Yeah, I guess it is late. Then again, why should I go to bed? Maybe I can sleep through tomorrow with them. Kyle, quit lecturing me…I hate when you're right. I remember we were _both_ novices at one time.

"Fine, I'll give them another chance, 'kay? I love you too."

Finally Beast Boy made it to his room, which was a green as he was, and climbed to the top story of bunk-beds.

"Ah, I love this place already," he sighed happily as he fell backwards onto his mattress and instantly was asleep.

**MORNING—LIVING ROOM**

"Well, _somebody _has to make breakfast!" squealed Beast Boy. "I'm starving!"

Wonder Girl growled, still bristled by the almost unanimous suggestion that she be the cook. "Why can't you do it? Just because I'm a girl means I'm some great chef?"

Moving to no doubt only add to the sexism, Robin couldn't even say one word before Cyborg grabbed his mouth and pulled the acrobat back. Meanwhile, Starfire—ever a peacekeeper—was going to volunteer to cook herself, but she only found a green octopus latched to her face when she attempted to do so.

_Beast Boy: "I can _sense_ when bad cooking is afoot. NO MORE BEETLES!"_

_Starfire: "They say I am naïve, but Gar has no idea what a tentacled sea-creature on the face suggests where I come from…though it is possible he could _guess_."_

"You are needlessly wasting your energy on something entirely futile," Raven chastised. "You will not even remember what you ate in a few hours."

"Actually," Dick interjected, "in a few hours I'll still be tasting my breakfast."

Donna cringed. "Pleasant."

Suddenly a bright light surged through the spacious room and glass shattered, raining down like jagged, clear hail. The new team stood stunned at the sight before them.

Floating outside the window was a man dressed in an all black outfit with a light bulb emblazoned across his chest. A white cape flapped behind him, matching the white hat on his head—with a brim down the center, like a Mohawk. A long goatee stretched off his chin and formed a sharp point.

"Hello Titans," he said with a twisted smile. "We haven't the pleasure of meeting, so I'll make it short and sweet. I'm Dr. Light, and I'm here to destroy you all!"

Dr. Light pointed his right hand forward, and a blinding sphere of light came to life in his palm. His lips opened to utter a trademark taunt before he commenced with the death.

_Speed: "Dr. Light, light bulb on his costume, bright attacks…oh God I know what he's going to say and it makes me want to grow wrists just so I can slit them."_

_Cyborg: "Don't say it man! Gar could do better than that!"_

However, Dr. Light couldn't hear the warnings and would have paid them little attention even if he could.

"Lights out, Titans!"

_Beast Boy: "Gah, even I could have done better than that!"_

Next time on The Real World: Titans Tower: The First Fight!


	2. The First Fight!

OOC: I'm _horribly_ sorry for the huge gap between chapters 1 and 2. My life's been pretty stressful lately, and though I knew what needed to be written, I was having trouble actually sitting down and writing it. At least, in the meantime, I've roughly plotted the rest of the story! Anyway, I promise a new chapter much faster than this one, and to make up for the delay, here's a few teasers to keep you coming back!

Coming up soon: the JLA! Titans East! The Brotherhood of Evil! And of course, everybody's favorite superhero relative…Matt Logan! Enjoy the new chapter, guys and gals!

Disclaimer: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and my story is only borrowing those characters—as well as influences from later writers such as Geoff Johns and the staff of the animated series. Of course, after what I've done to them they may not want them back…

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Episode Two: The First Fight!**

**ROLE CALL: **

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Mysterious, cynical girl with numerous empathic abilities.

**Starfire—**Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

**OFF THE AIR—LOREN JUPITER'S OFFICE **

"Mr. Jupiter! Mr. Jupiter!"

Loren Jupiter turned irately from his paperwork as his secretary came barreling into his office, caring little if she interrupted anything. She was a slim girl with long red hair that seemed to spill over her shoulders and down the front of her black and red sweater. She wore a black and red mini-skirt accompanied with dark stiletto heels, and giant peace signs dangled from her earlobes. Across her face was pasted a panicked expression.

"Ms. Clay," Jupiter growled, "I am trying to finish some very important negotiations so that my Titans actually have someone to _fight!_ Interruptions like this aren't going to help me get heavy-hitters and move beyond no-shows like Light!"

"That's the problem!" replied Ms. Clay. "Light's shown up after all! He's at the tower now!"

Face dropping in sheer disbelief, Mr. Jupiter span frantically to turn on his monitors. Surely enough, footage from all seven Titans as well as tower security confirmed it—Dr. Light was attacking now, in the very tower itself!

"That idiot!" Loren Jupiter exclaimed. "He doesn't show on time, so he decides to destroy my _very expensive_ tower?!" The director subconsciously gripped the papers on his desk, crumpling them into balls. "Hopefully my Titans are smart enough to lead him away from the tower. Ms. Clay! Get working on some spin for this!"

Lilith Clay only nodded in obedience, moving back towards her desk to make sure this stunt somehow didn't blow their cover. Of course, deep down she'd honestly have no problem with that.

**ON THE AIR—TITANS TOWER, LIVING ROOM**

Glass shot through the room as the Titans stared on in horror at the threat floating outside their living room window. All thoughts of breakfast were dropped—at least from _most_ of the Titans—as beams of light appeared in the man's hands.

"Lights out, Titans!"

_Beast Boy: "Man, I really could have used some Wheaties before this…"_

_Speed: "So some guy's after us already? What the hell? Did the way we ate dinner irritate him or something?"_

Dr. Light grinned maliciously as twin beams of light burst forward with explosive force.

"I've got it!" Wonder Girl called as she dashed before the others, intercepting the deadly beams with her bracelets. With pinpoint precision Donna reflected them to the side, and they zoomed past the doctor and through some windows that actually hadn't been broken yet.

_Cyborg: "I wonder who has to pay for all this?"_

_Wonder Girl: "Super-heroes don't have time to think of property damage!"_

_Robin: "Ah yes, I've done my research. Like her sister, Donna's Amazonian bracelets are unbreakable, able to deflect anything from bullets to, well, giant beams of weaponized light—and her enhanced speed makes sure she doesn't miss!_

_"Fortunately for the ladies of the world, I don't have enhanced speed myself…"_

"Yo!" Beast Boy exclaimed as the Titans readied themselves, knowing the seething Dr. Light wouldn't give up that easily. "I say after we beat the crap outta' him we have him make us breakfast!"

Ready with a more cynical—or perhaps logical, depending on your perspective—viewpoint as always was Raven, ominously looming over the younger Titan's shoulder. "Perhaps you should reconsider wanting a criminally insane idiot cooking your food."

"Indeed!" With a boom Starfire soared past the two, her hair leaving the impression of a flaming trail behind her. The Tamaranian's increased alien strength was put to good use as her fist collided with Dr. Light's gut, sending the screaming villain back out the way he had come. "When I am through with him he shall be unable to _move_, nonetheless cook!"

_Starfire: "I will not idly stand by and let some madman try to harm my friends! If they are simply going to talk, then I will be the one to take action!"_

The electronics in Light's suit were already working overtime as they steadied his flight, and he span back towards his attacker, blinding energy sizzling in his palm. "Nice try, Sunfire, but my light far outshines even yours!"

_Starfire: "Sunfire? Is this some Earth insult? I do not understand what insulting properties the sun's flames possess though. They are warm and provide light, this is good, no?"_

_Raven: "I am not trying to say that Dr. Light is not dangerous. On the contrary—he is extraordinarily dangerous. All I can sense from him is hatred, anger, bloodlust. He seems to thrive off the pain of others. Yet—he is as dumb as a brick. I feel Starfire's confusion, but he is not trying to insult or joke—he simply…forgot her name."_

Regardless, Koriand'r's anger overtook her brief confusion as her pupil-less green eyes filled with shimmering energy of the same hue. That energy exploded in the palm of her orange hands, and with lightning-fast speed she tossed the ball straight below her. A pillar of green power collided with Light before he could even launch his own attack, driving him straight to the ground. Titans Island itself shook from the impact.

_Beast Boy: "Wow! Momma don't mess around!"_

_Starfire: "My body is a solar battery, constantly absorbing sunlight which in turn powers me, allowing me both to fly and to fire those energy attacks. I call them my 'Starbolts.'"_

"I'm so hot for her right now," drooled Robin, watching with the others from the Tower window. Donna Troy sighed heavily but decided to ignore him for now, knowing more was at stake. Unlike the others she'd _seen_ Light fight before, and despite his obvious IQ deficiency his powers were still quite deadly. Plus…

"If that's Kory's main power then she can't win!" Wonder Girl declared as she dashed from the window, soaring towards the combatants. The other Titans followed, Speed dashing down the side of the tower, Gar taking flight as a green bird, Cyborg leaping high into the air and Raven disappearing altogether.

This left Dick Grayson staring pitifully out the window.

_Robin: "And I was upset…for a few minutes. Then I remembered the sweet new gadgets MTV hooked me up with, and was like, yeah, what does it matter that I can't fly? I'll make my _own_ trapeze."_

"You will do no more damage here today!" Starfire declared boldly as her Starbolt still raged madly from her hand, blazing like an inferno on the island below. She _meant_ it. Still, despite the alien's fury her opponent was not down yet. Dr. Light lay at the bottom of the crater his landing had created, sensors furiously blinking in pattern up and down his suit.

Despite the panic he should have been feeling, Light instead was indulging himself with a full-fledged smile. Koriand'r's ruthless offense was held off several feet before the doctor's face, and as he thrust his arms forward it took off back towards its creator.

"Your beams are light, girl, are they not? They are mine to control!" With the speed of a bullet train the Starbolts reversed themselves, colliding with their creator in mid-air and lighting the sky like the fourth of July. Starfire fell pitifully to the ground, spewing smoke as sparks of energy from her own Starbolts crackled up her curvy body.

"Well now," Light gleefully growled with a smile reflecting his pure hatred pasted across his face, "Looks like getting rid of you stinking kids is going to be a lot easier than I thought. Maybe you weren't enough of a threat to go through this for after all."

Suddenly two curled, green horns were in the not-so-good doctor's groin, sending him reeling through Titans Island's yard. The mountain goat those horns belonged to bounded forward before leaping into the air, changing back into Beast Boy himself.

"Is that why you're after us? I've seen you in the news—you get beat by the Justice League every other week! Were you worried that some kids were gonna humiliate you even more?"

_Beast Boy: "When I was in the Doom Patrol, our archenemies were the Brotherhood of Evil, led by The Brain, an icky brain in a jar. They gave us a million reasons to hate them, but mine? I couldn't stand them 'cause we didn't know why they hated _us_ so much!_

_"Brain had a mad-on for us, but would never tell us why. Man that was frustrating! This is the same! We haven't been superheroes for a day yet even and already some whack-job is after us! I'm gonna love whuppin' on this moron…"_

Dr. Light regained his footing and the first thing he noticed was the not-too-pleasant sight of a green bear lunging for him, massive paw raised. He screamed as a blade of pure light shot from his palm, giving the creature a pedicure it didn't ask for. The bear fell backwards—yet again as Beast Boy—cradling a throbbing hand. And suddenly he was blinded by a flash so bright it could almost put the sun to shame.

"Of course I'm not worried!" Light replied angrily. "You want to know why I'm doing this, boy? Well—"

Suddenly Dr. Light was completely blown away by several boulders engulfed in a sheet of darkness. The bottom of Raven's cloak was spreading across the ground like fog at a rock concert, taking control of the various landscaped rocks and sending them hurtling towards the intruder.

_Raven: "Do not lie, Light. And really, does it even matter why he is fighting us? Our audience is eating this up. I have felt it among the public—they love violence._

_"And I already know the confusion my abilities create, so just this once I will explain them. As I said, my empathy allows me to sense the emotions of others. I can also alter or dispel those said emotions._

_"I can also extend my mind from my body and possess inanimate objects, such as the boulders you saw. This leads itself to many even more complicated abilities, but I will stop for now, because I know that the producers need to fit this all within twenty-two minutes…"_

Blood filled the air as the massive stones battered the supervillain, but he didn't build that suit just so he could be killed in it. A burst of light erupted from his clothing as the hired antagonist simultaneously fired several more blasts from his glove, blowing through the boulder storm and heading straight towards Raven.

Showing no signs of fear—or any emotion at all, for that matter—her cloak blew around her and expanded into massive black wings, swallowing up the attacks with no apparent discomfort. They then grew even more massive, looming over Dr. Light like malevolent shadows.

_Raven: "Be very afraid, Dr. Light. Considering what I have sensed from the others I have enveloped in my darkness, you will _not_ like this experience."_

However, before the empath could show Light the fright of his life he was blown out of her reach, sent soaring in a single yellow explosion.

Speed's fist crumbled as it tore into the doctor's face, and fragments of his shattered shell peppered Light as he skidded through the dirt.

_Speed: "This 'body' of mine is just energy from the Speed Force, focused into a physical form. It's not meant to fight that way, so lame as it is, it can't survive more than one blow—yes, I know, super speed is powerful because of the _numerous_ blows you can land with it—giving me yet another reason to hate not having my body._

_"And don't I have_ enough_ reasons already?" _

Even as he was sent soaring, Light was able to launch a counter attack, slinging a fast blast in his wake. "Silly speedster—"

"No, silly _doctor_," growled Wally, dashing behind his opponent effortlessly, "Your sub par silver-age dialogue can never make you fast enough to tag _me._" The specter's other fist exploded as he sent a hook across the villain's face, bouncing Dr. Light across the island and leaving several head-sized craters in his wake.

Drool flailing from his mouth like a mad dog as he still reeled, Dr. Light was already beginning to prepare another assault—until he slowed to a frozen stop, in mid-air nonetheless! Shimmering golden energy flowed from his levitating body into the stubs of Speed's shattered 'arms', much to Wally West's delight.

_Speed: "I can control the entire Speed Force. Why should I let _him _have any speed? I'm gonna leave him so slow that it'll take him a century just to _blink_."_

The impatient teen actually took his time meandering to the frozen villain, a malicious grin almost literally carved on his face. "So, what do you think of us now? Or have you not even been able to form a single _thought_ all this time?"

Suddenly Wally West was swallowed up in a massive burst of light that incinerated the rest of his Speed Force shell and carved a tremendous rut straight off the island and into the ocean. Sea-water filled the air as Light slowly regained movement, hovering above the ground laughing like the villain from a B-Movie.

"Actually, I could think just _fine_. And seeing how the light in my suit is activated by _thought_, it was all I took to incinerate you. Stinkin' kids—one down, six to—"

Again the talkative super villain was caught in mid sentence, receiving a full helping of Amazonian super-strength in the forms of Donna Troy's fists meeting his chest.

"Can it, Light!" she commanded, her shimmering golden lasso already tied and looping towards her opponent. "Don't get too confident just cause you got some hits in on kids who've never thrown a punch before! I'm the real deal!"

"Yes, because the real deal would defeat me by making me tell the truth," Light said, sarcasm dripping from each word.

_Wonder Girl: "Exactly what I want him to think."_

Accompanied by a mighty scream from its user, the lasso suddenly lit up like the sky during a thunder storm, lightning erupting from it and engulfing Dr. Light in a blinding fury of pain. Light's screams echoed louder than even the thunder itself.

_Wonder Girl: "My lasso is a gift from my Amazon sisters—given the ability to use the lightning of Zeus himself as a weapon! Since I'm not Amazonian by birth, my powers sadly aren't up to my sisters. This is a way to compensate, I guess you could say._

_"And what a way to do it. Let's see a mere mortal like Light withstand it…"_

"Ready to give up yet?" Donna growled, lightning sparking up the golden rope held firmly in her hands. As an answer, the attack reversed itself towards her, leaving the Wonder Girl only time to block with her bracelets—and still get blown from the sky faster then, well, a speeding bullet.

Smoke poured from Dr. Light, but at this point he cared little of his pain—perhaps he was just too stupid to notice. "Give up? Never! Even that lightning is still light…"

"But this is just sound!" The air around Light rippled, ripping grass from the ground as the doctor fell to his knees, hands over his ears. Cyborg stood with is arm frantically pointed towards the madman, his hand folded back into the barrel of a complicated-looking weapon.

_Cyborg: "I already have enough traditional weapons in me, I think. The Sonic Blaster is just non-conventional enough to throw people off. And for once, it's something this moron can't throw back at us!"_

Gar finally got to his feet behind his mechanical buddy, seething at the damage he'd taken but still sadly still blinded. Of course, Garfield had the entire powers of the animal kingdom as his fingertips—he didn't need his eyesight!

_Beast Boy: "I got schooled by that guy, and everybody's just calling him an idiot—so what does that make me if I give up?! I'm not staying down!"_

"Great job Vic! Keep him distracted!" Truthfully, Beast Boy had no way to know for sure if Light was down or not at this point—but he trusted his friend. The green kid took flight as a similarly colored bat, soaring erratically towards his prey. With a bat's echolocation sonar, he knew exactly where the villain was.

And with the bulk of a hippo suddenly added to his body above said villain, he knew exactly how to dispatch him. Granted, a cushion of light was just what the evil doctor needed to survive the attack, and to create another that sent the shapeshifter reeling back towards his pal.

"That was almost too easy," Light growled. "I guess you just can't see the light, eh?"

_Beast Boy: "Gah, does the horror ever end? He's slandering the good name of puns everywhere!"_

Back in human form, Gar skidded past Vic's feet on his butt. "You're too hurt Gar," Cyborg grumbled as a whir from his cannon signified it was again ready to fire. "You should stay back and let me handle it! You almost got killed!"

"I've been in this business almost all my life Vic," growled Beast Boy, "And I know what I'm capa—" The boy's pointy ears pricked up as his almost animal hearing picked up whirring that _certainly_ wasn't from Cyborg. "Vic, he's about to attack!"

Without even looking a ferocious wave of sound exploded from the cannon, again crippling Dr. Light. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one in the attack's path.

"NO!"

Wonder Girl fell from behind Light—where she had been poised to strike—hands clamped over her ears hard enough to almost crush her head.

_Cyborg: "C'mon, couldn't she see I was about to attack?!"_

_Wonder Girl: "Come on, couldn't he see I was about to attack?!"_

"Damn!" Cyborg exclaimed, cutting off the sonic blast before it did any more harm to his teammate. Unfortunately, this meant no more harm to Light too, and a vicious beam was instantly heading towards the two teens.

"Dammit some more!" the half-robot again grumbled as he took Gar in one arm and leapt into the air, the strength of his robotic legs combining with boosters on the soles of his feet to propel him far above the threat and to Donna's side. Unfortunately, it was a predictable move and Dr. Light had already countered it, uprooting the ground itself as the blast soared for the triple-threat.

Light was drooling in blood-lust as his ray exploded before him. "That's it, you can't survive my attacks! My superior intellect wins again!"

_Cyborg: "Not really. It's not like there was any other move for me to make there or anything."_

However, in pure power Light was much more proficient. Hatches in Victor Stone's shoulder and chest had popped open, projecting a glow that materialized into a thick energy shield. Still, as energy amassed around Dr. Light, it was apparent that even this defense might not be enough.

"I can't last much longer!" Vic gasped, trying to keep his energies focused on holding the shield. "Where is everybody?!"

Meanwhile, Robin still stood in the broken windowsill, mulling over a strange 't' shaped device. He pressed a button for what seemed like the millionth time, and the gadget did nothing except make a weird noise.

_Robin: "This is supposed to be some sort of grappling hook, but right now I can't get it to do anything but whirr at me. I'm going to beat the living s--- out of that Dr. Light jackass for attacking before I knew what my equipment actually did yet. All his fault…"_

Finally Dick found a button on the bottom, and a small arrow-like object shot from the device, attached to a nearly unbreakable, almost invisible rope. It soared like a bullet into the ceiling, pitons emerging as it dug into the steel girders to further secure it. The unexpected recoil sent the acrobat backwards, and he landed on his butt with a thud.

"Nice an' graceful, Dick," he growled sarcastically as he rose to his feet, going for another button. The rope started to retract and pull Robin towards the ceiling. "Okay, so that one pulls me up slowly…"

Robin was pulled a few more feet, out of the tower and into the air, and he tried for another button. In only a moment he was hurtling towards the ground like an anvil. "…but that's not the button that lets me _down_ slowly!!"

Fortunately for him, the end of his line was quickly reached, and the sudden stop jerked Robin so hard that he was sent flying from the grappling. Instinctively the former circus-star tucked into somersaults, but they'd be for naught if he couldn't find some way to slow his fall.

And just as it all seemed hopeless he felt his cape catch wind, like a glider, and slow his fall. Dick's trademark grin returned to his face in earnest as blind luck not only saved his life, but gave him a great opportunity as he noticed a certain dim-witted villain from the corner of his eye.

_Robin: "Jackpot. That was the best strategy I ever came up with."_

However, whatever Robin's "plan", it wasn't helping out the other Titans at that moment. The fluorescent blue hue in Cyborg's head and shoulders started to fade as his power depleted. The thin shield of pure energy—the three's only defense—started to strain and crack. Victor Stone simply didn't have much left in him.

"Wonder Girl! Gar! A little help here?!"

Despite his injuries Beast Boy did his best, again taking the form of a bat. Donna Troy's ears were ringing, but she knew if Light could still be standing she had no excuse to give up now. However, the valiant efforts of both heroes were not needed.

Dr. Light was almost completely deranged as blinding white-hot light boiled around him, nearly a small star. What thoughts he had were lost in the pure rage contained within his mind as he began to summon the last bit of strength it would take to completely decimate Cyborg's shield.

Yet, it was not meant to be. At that very moment Light was engulfed in an explosion of pure, unadulterated black. The sphere of light collapsed into the darkness, which rose majestically into the shape of a vicious bird before dissipating into nothingness, leaving only Raven—still hidden within her expansive cloak—where all the chaos once had been.

Meanwhile, Light was on his knees, shivering. His pupils had disappeared, his costume was ripped and torn, and his teeth were chattering so loudly that it was nearly deafening. Words could barely escape from his lips, filled with terror.

"c…c—cold…M—mommy?!"

_Cyborg: "Damn…no words can describe how awesome yet creepy that entire thing was."_

_Wonder Girl: "By the gods…what _is_ she?"_

_Beast Boy: "The echolocation I got back on whatever weird magic-trick Rae pulled off was totally unreal. I can't even imagine how trippy it would've been to see it!"_

"What just happened?" Returning to his human form, Gar was annoyed to have missed out on the battle's final blow. With a slight shrug in his direction, a tip of Raven's cloak seemed to leap to life and engulf the boy in an incandescent blue glow. A few seconds his eyes opened, and Gar caught sight of Dr. Light. "Oh. Ouch—WAIT A SECOND! I CAN SEE!"

Now Raven had provided even more reasons to be stared at in wonder—she especially left Beast Boy amazed. "Dude that's awesome an' all, but I thought you were an empath! Then you're telekinetic, now you're a healer, what's up with that?!"

_Raven: "His curiosity and indignance far outweighs any gratitude for my restoration of his sight…typical human." _

Rolling her eyes Raven quickly rattled off a list. "Empath. Minor emotion manipulation. Interdimensional teleportation. Possession of objects, resembling telekinesis. Non-terminal disease and injury healing. Astral projection. Possession of minds."

_Cyborg: "She…must have to do that a lot."_

Gar's eyes bugged. "Did you have that memorized or something?"

"Yes," stated the empath quickly. "I have to state it quite often."

_Cyborg: "Bingo!"_

Of course, the sociopathic villain trembling at the four heroes' feet quickly retook their attention as he pleaded, in a stupor, not to have to go to school. "What did you _do_ to him?" Donna asked, still rather awestruck.

"There was no way physically move through his attack," Raven began with her normal nonchalance, "So I teleported straight into Dr. Light's mind and unleashed his worst fears from his subconscious."

"Wait a second," Vic interjected, his mechanical mind already having run through all the possibilities, "Why didn't you do that from the get-go? Hell, what's to stop you from doing that to all our opponents? Kind of makes the rest of us a little redundant, y'think?"

"Of course not," replied the empath with her typical curtness. "That is not an easy technique to execute, and it has rather drained me. Also, it cannot be justified as anything but a last resort. Look at what it has done to Dr. Light—we do not have the right to manipulate anybody's mind in this fashion unless absolutely necessary. In all honesty, I doubt he can ever recover."

Suddenly Donna Troy was filled with both pity and indignance.

_Wonder Girl: "I can't believe I'm starting to sorry for such a waste of a human being as Dr. Light! I guess it's just Raven…she acts like she's above all of us and our actions, just passing judgment on us, ignoring what she does! What a hypocrite!"_

Before she could speak her thoughts aloud Starfire landed beside the foursome, finally recovered from Light's brutal attack. "Do not feel bad, Raven, I agree with your actions. You did what was necessary." Suddenly the alien's usual peaceful demeanor changed to features of pure anger. "Now let me finish the job so he shall cause us no more trouble!"

A focused beam of green energy leapt from Koriand'r's fingertips and raced for Dr. Light's neck—only to be knocked aside at the last second with one movement of Wonder Girl's arm. Smoke still poured from the Amazon's bracelet as she reached her limit of anger.

"What are you _doing_, Starfire?!" Donna asked, the words nearly coming out a snarl. "You would have killed him!"

_Beast Boy: "Hit the dirt people! This is war!"_

"Do not think me stupid Donna. I know exactly what I was doing." Starfire looked towards their now-crippled attacker with a plainly obvious air of malice. "I was making sure he'd never try to hurt us again."

_Starfire: "On Tamaran any criminal captured would be given the same treatment. We do not wish to be guilty of tolerating murderers and thieves and those who hurt innocents. Their lost lives are worth the countless lives saved."_

Obviously Donna didn't share the oranged-skinned beauty's philosophy. "I don't know about your world, but that's not how things work here! We are not judge and jury! We don't have the right to decide who lives and dies! Heroes don't kill!"

"What about the Vigilante and Black Adam and that Question guy?" Beast Boy asked with a puzzled look on his green face. "Don't they kill sometimes? Or are they _anti-heroes_…"

_Cyborg: "Growing up, watching heroes in the Justice League all my life on TV, I usually have the same view as Donna. But having fought Light…I'm starting to edge toward Starry's side on this one. Still, not the time. I need to defuse the girls first."_

"We'll have plenty of time to discuss this later," Cyborg interjected as he grabbed both girls' shoulders and pulled them apart. "Don't you think we should get Light outta' here first?"

"I've got it taken care of!" called a voice from behind the heroes. Again Loren Jupiter strolled towards the Teen Titans, followed by about a dozen armed—and armored—soldiers. A small ship, very similar to the T-Ship, stood ready for use behind them.

"Nice," Vic remarked with a slight grunt. "Got all that firepower an' leave us to do all the work."

Jupiter smiled and shrugged nonchalantly. "You're the stars of the show. Would our viewers like it if we did all the work for you?" Two of Jupiter's soldiers hoisted the still dazed Dr. Light over their shoulders. "And as for killing your opponents, I say no. Philosophy or not, we'll lose our sponsors—and thus our _show_—if you start willingly killing off even thieves and villains."

Starfire sighed with disappointment, but was not the type to hold a grudge. "I do not like it, but I will play by your rules."

"Good," smiled Mr. Jupiter as he tugged his gaudy, plaid jacket. "Then that just leaves—"

Before the director could even finish his sentence he was interrupted by a scream from above. "Don't worry! I've got 'im!"

With a blood-curdling karate scream Robin re-entered the scene, flipping through the air and striking Dr. Light square over his head with a metal staff. The attack knocked both of Jupiter's soldiers off their feet, and did little to stop an _already_ stopped Light.

As he rose to his feet Dick fixed his collar and grinned like he'd just won the lottery. "Shows him," the acrobat said smugly. "No thanks necessary, guys!"

"Indeed," Raven replied, as Cyborg held back Wonder Girl from bashing Dick Grayson's head in. "Seeing as I defeated Dr. Light moments ago there really is no necessity in thanking you."

"Maybe if you'd been down here you'd have known that already!" Donna called, struggling to break from the mechanical man's grip. "And maybe we wouldn't have lost a member in our very first fight!"

The faces of the other Titans fell.

_Starfire: "What is she speaking about? Everybody is here except…oh no! Wally…it is so sad, for him to die so angry and alone." _

_Beast Boy: "What, she thinks Wally's dead? Isn't he, like, energy? How can you kill that?"_

_Wonder Girl: "I can't say I liked Wally, and if he had kept up his attitude I probably never would have, but I certainly didn't want him to die!"_

"Pff, I can't die like that," objected the voice of Wally West. Much to the surprise of his teammates, the air around the Teen Titans shimmered as Wally's body retook a ghostly form. "Not that I would have minded it. I'm just a spirit trapped in the Speed Force. You can't kill that. The mental strain of that blast screwed me up enough that I couldn't reform my body for a while."

Speed glanced down at his intangible hands and grunted. "Hell, still can't focus into physical form yet."

_Beast Boy: "See, I knew he couldn't die! And everybody thinks I'm stupid."_

"Well," again smiled Dick Grayson, "All's well that ends well. Nobody's got any right to complain now, 'cept maybe Doctor Light."

"And me!" spoke up Loren Jupiter. "You seven won that fight by luck! None of you knew how to work together like a team! If anything you worked against each other and hurt your teammates as much as Light!

"And you!" Jupiter exclaimed, his voice booming at even higher decibels as he pointed towards Robin. "You were no help at all! If you aren't even going to bother to master your equipment and contribute then you should just leave!"

_Wonder Girl: "Now that doesn't sound half bad! Finally, the first decent idea of the day."_

For once Robin had nothing to say in return. For the first time since he arrived at Titans Tower he lost his cocky demeanor.

He'd just been owned on national television.

_Robin: "Asshole. I'll show him—hell, and everybody else. Yeah, I guess there's no getting around the fact that I screwed up—there's always a first time for everything. Still, they think I'm a slacker, and that couldn't be further from the truth. Next time we fight, they'll see why I'm the best!"_

"Like I said," continued Mr. Jupiter, "you kids were lucky to come out alive. I don't want to see anything happen to you. I recommend you train and develop some teamwork before something like this happens again."

Dr. Light had already been loaded up, and now Loren Jupiter climbed into his tiny ship, his brightly clashing outfit working well to ensure all eyes were on him. "I'll be contacting you soon for your first mission!"

With the chaos of Dr. Light's seemingly random attack finally over, nobody quite knew what to say. Of course, that never held back Garfield Logan before.

"So, everybody ready for breakfast now?"

_Beast Boy: "'Cause, I tell ya', I'm hungry enough to eat a…well…I guess a horse made of tofu. Man, some expressions just weren't meant for vegetarians!"_

"Now that sounds like a good way to end a slugfest," smiled Vic as he turned towards the tower. However, Dick seemed to disagree as he grunted and walked off, head hanging.

"No thanks," grumbled the acrobat. "Got more important things to do."

However, Donna Troy had actually seemed to lighten up. "Well, I, for one, think breakfast sounds great!" Floating into the sky, the Wonder Girl looked down, smiling even wider than Dick Grayson at his most arrogant.

"And after that, we train! Mr. Jupiter's right—we do need to be a team! And I've figured out just how to achieve that!"

_Speed: "Oh, _god_ no, don't let it be what I'm thinking!"_

However, per the usual Wally found his worst fears taking life. "I'm going to teach you all!" Donna exclaimed. "I'm going to be your leader!"

_Speed: "What I wouldn't give for Light to have really killed me."_

**OFF THE AIR—LOREN JUPITER'S OFFICE**

Papers were messily strewn across Loren Jupiter's deck, his "in" and his "out" boxes having long ago merged into one incomprehensible pile. Thank to his secretary's excellent PR skills the Light debacle managed to draw little negative attention, even if the not-so-good Doctor did manage to bungle his entire contract. Still, finding a new enemy who would be a _credible_ threat to his team, not to mention finding something to do with Light, was enough to backlog his work almost irrevocably.

In fact, Dr. Light still lay slumped in a chair in the corner of Jupiter's office, occasionally mumbling to himself but almost totally comatose beyond that.

"Mr. Jupiter!" The voice of Lilith Clay, the director's ever-dependable secretary, blared over the intercom, causing Loren to jump in his seat. "Your guest is here to see you now."

An almost vicious smile—completely betraying the caring persona shown on the air—crept across the man's face. "Thank you Ms. Clay. Please, let him in."

As requested, only seconds later a figure entered the office, casting an imposing silhouette of an even more imposing man. His body was clad in black and orange armor, with a sword and several guns hanging from various straps. A metallic mask disguised all his facial features, leaving only a vent to breathe through and one visible eye.

Loren Jupiter, nearly in awe, finally managed to speak. "How…good of you to come, Mr. Wilson."

The masked man frowned. "Please, Jupiter. At home I may be Slade Wilson, but when I'm in this costume—when I'm working…"

Slade's voice was cool, calm, and yet terribly menacing. It sent chills down Jupiter's spine.

"…call me 'Deathstroke'."

Next time: "Team" Titans!


	3. Team Titans

Disclaimer: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and my story is only borrowing those characters—as well as influences from other writers such as Geoff Johns and the staff of the animated series. However, the new takes on these classic characters are my idea and nobody better take them either :-P

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Episode 3: "Team" Titans!**

**ROLE CALL: **

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

**ON THE AIR—TITANS TOWER, KITCHEN**

Finally, after arguments and the fight with Doctor Light interrupting them, the Teen Titans had eaten their first breakfast—which sadly enough was much more impressive an achievement than one would think. Of course, nobody wanted to take responsibility for the mess, so while bowls with the last crumby remnants of cereal, plates covered with sticky syrup, and used silverware and napkins were strewn the about table, only two of the teens remained.

Garfield Logan, who now had several plates clumsily stacked at his spot on the table, was messily eating a tofu-waffle. The whole waffle hung precariously on his fork, and the green boy held it above his head, taking giant, fast bites like a shark emerging from the ocean to gobble up a swimmer. Across the kitchen, Wonder Girl leaned against the counter, cell phone glued to her ear, shaking her head sadly at the sight of her slob teammate.

_Wonder Girl: "Ew."_

_Beast Boy: "Man, do I love food! Though I really don't know whether I've got a huge appetite or if it's just 'cause tofu isn't that filling. Oh well, small price to pay to not eat meat."_

Fortunately, Donna Troy's conversation was mostly distracting her from Beast Boy. "So what do you think of my idea, Kyle? I mean, getting these ragtag kids into a real team would finally be my purpose for being here! I'm the only one who _can_ do it!"

Beast Boy rolled his eyes as he ripped off another chunk of waffle with his fangs.

"Oh, thanks Kyle! I knew I could do it, but hearing it from you makes me feel so much better!"

_Beast Boy: "Ugh, breakfast ain't gonna' stay down for very long if this keeps up …"_

_Wonder Girl: "When I first arrived in man's world, Kyle was the first man I ever met. He's shown me so much, helped me get adjusted to his new life here, even helped me search for my parents when he had the time! I owe him so much…_

_"I just wish he was _around_ more. His work keeps him so busy!"_

Donna chuckled and started twirling a few strands of her hair with her fingers. "Yeah, well with all the training techniques you and my sister've shown me, it should be a piece of cake. _Should_ being the key word, because these kids don't seem to have any idea on how to take orders…wish me luck Kyle."

Sighing, Gar dropped what little of his food remained and slunk out. He was a pretty easy-going guy, but even his buttons had finally been pushed.

_Beast Boy: "Now I think I know how Wally feels."_

**OFF THE AIR—LOREN JUPITER'S OFFICE**

While not especially big, Loren Jupiter still wasn't a tiny man by any means. However, standing next to Slade Wilson—better known as the most dangerous mercenary alive, Deathstroke—he felt like a munchkin. Even out of costume Slade was an imposing man, commanding respect without even having to act—but _in_ costume, he was almost inhuman. Jupiter had thought himself prepared for encounters such as this, but _nobody_ was _ever_ prepared to meet Deathstroke.

"So, I'm assuming there's somebody you want me to kill," began Slade, used to having to take the lead in conversations. Slade had been in this line of work for ages, before any of the Titans were even born. Many might argue that he was the best because of this experience, but they'd be wrong. Slade had been the best since the day he first picked up a gun.

Of course, undergoing a super-secret government experiment that had unlocked his brain's fullest combat potential had ensured he would always _be_ the best. Slade had never failed a mission. _Never_.

"Not exactly," mumbled Jupiter, working up his nerve. He'd been mentally preparing for this for quite a while. This wasn't Slade's normal job, that's for sure. He doubted the mercenary had _ever_ been asked to hold back. "See, I'm more interested in this superhero team, the Teen Titans. They have a reality show on MTV and…"

"You want me to kill a whole team?" Slade interrupted, sounding almost amused. "I'm pleased that you have so much faith in my abilities, but it's going to cost you more. A _lot_ more. And taking on capes is going to raise the price even further. I've learned from experience that when you kill capes, their friends don't take it very lightly."

Jupiter allowed himself a slight grin. "You're scared of the Justice League?" 

"Scared?" Deathstroke's eyebrow arched fiercely. "Certainly not, Mr. Jupiter. I don't fear them—but I do _respect_ them. Not even _I _could take on the JLA's full roster all at once—and I'd rather not waste my time having to outrun them."

"I understand completely," replied Jupiter, "But I don't want you to _kill_ them."

Slade was stopped dead in his tracks. "Come again?"

"I'm the director of the Titans' show, and I'm hiring anybody I can to take them on—to make them look good. I want you to look as menacing as you can. Injure them, maybe even defeat a few. I need you to look like a credible threat—not like that nimrod Dr. Light. But at the same time, you need to let _them_ look good. And in the end…you need to take the fall."

Suddenly Slade's fist tore into Loren Jupiter's desk, cracking it in half. For a second he thought of the conniption Ms. Clay would have when she saw the mess, but his mind quickly turned toward the bigger threat—one very pissed mercenary looming over the remains of his deck.

"You want me to LOSE?!"

**ON THE AIR—TITANS TOWER, TRAINING ROOM**

When the seven teens now living there first saw Titans Tower, several of them wondered why they would ever need such a large headquarters. As Dick Grayson stood in the middle of the expansive two story training room, he instead wondered just how everything _fit_.

Rafters, pipes and acrobatic bars filled the air at different elevations. The walls were covered with targets, and the room littered with human-shaped dummies. In the center was a large boxing ring, created sturdy enough to even survive the sparring sessions of super-powered teenagers.

And as this room's first user, Dick had made an impression. Dummies were battered and some even split—an unfortunate few had razor edged, red boomerangs lodged in their heads. Several smoking, empty bases were all that remained where some had stood. Half a dozen grappling hooks still hung limply from the rafters. The former circus star that had done all that damage, meanwhile, was furthering his path of destruction. A fire burnt in the teen's eyes.

_Robin: "Dr. Light tried to make a fool outta' me, attacking before I could even bother to learn what all this stuff was. Well, I'm not letting it happen again. Yesterday if you had asked me what a 'bolo' was I'd have had no idea, but now I'm a bolo-master! All this s---—I'm a master. A few more hours of this and I'll be the best there is. Just like it should be."_

With a double-somersault the acrobat soared above one dummy and landed directly behind another—spinning into a lethal martial arts chop he tore through its chest, sending stuffing flying through the room.

Dick stopped to catch his breath, wiping sweat from his brow. He had kept on the mask, which stopped his perspiration from dripping into his eyes, but besides that had changed into a muscle shirt and shorts in order to keep as light as possible—which looked odd as he still wore his utility belt as well.

"These dummy f---ers are too easy," panted Robin as he walked to a control console and scanned its buttons. "Hm, now this looks like a worthy challenge." As the teen made his choice the wall before him slowly rolled open, allowing a blue and green training robot to lumber into the room.

Staring up into the mechanical combatant's robotic eyes, Dick Grayson could only utter an awestruck, "Holy s---."

And then he was off, leaping above the machine's first punch while reaching for his belt. Spinning in mid-air Robin tossed several disks packed with potent explosives—which did nothing but dirty the robot's torso.

Dumbstruck, he landed with one eyebrow raised and his jaw dropped.

_Robin: "Those might've well been firecrackers! If my explosives are going to be so useless they could have at least given me some g--damn EMP discs or something!" _

Fortunately, the acrobat wasn't so stunned that he didn't notice another attack, and he just barely managed to backflip over a second punch. It was an impressive maneuver, but the training simulator seemed to be programmed for one-upmanship. Boosters in its hips flared as it span, its other metallic claw grabbing Dick in mid-air.

_Robin: "I should have known it would end like this when the machine listed it as an exercise for Wonder Girl."_

Fumbling at his belt, Robin pulled a random gadget and managed to free one arm—only because it was so slippery from sweat. Raising his arm into the air, Dick noticed he was holding his staff. Better that than nothing he figured as he jammed the tip of the rod into the machine's robotic eye—sadly, the effort was futile.

_Robin: "You ever do something horribly stupid 'cause you're desperate knowing it's not gonna' work but hoping it will anyway? Well, I just did."_

Dick Grayson's eyes grew wider and wider as he realized that, not only might this be his end, but if it was, then it was being filmed! Fortunately, that fear wouldn't have to come to life. A shimmering green beam of energy rained down from above, literally disintegrating the training robot. Robin, meanwhile, found himself caught long before he hit the ground—and in the arms of a bronze-skinned beauty at that. He couldn't have wished for a better rescuer.

"That was a close one," smiled Starfire. "It is a good thing I was watching you, no?"

Not really thinking, Robin nodded eagerly in agreement. "Boy am I glad to see you."

_Robin: "And feel you too! Hold me tighter my love!"_

The acrobat crawled out of the alien's arms as she landed on the ground smoother than butter. Suddenly a random thought soared into his mind. "Wait, you were watching me? How long were you there?"

Starfire scratched her chin as she thought back—Robin couldn't help but notice how her nose scrunched when she was thinking. It was kinda cute. "It was after breakfast," she finally said. "I believe when I arrived you were talking about…'ebolas'?"

"Bolos," corrected Dick as he laughed to himself. Then he shrugged. "Well, guess I should always have a spotter anyway. Hey, want to spot me in bed tonight?" He flashed a grin as the last words left his mouth.

The otherworlder was confused by his statement. "Why would I need to watch over you in your slumber? Has a pack of wild Flemshires been seen in the area?"

_Starfire: "This is such a strange planet, and the humans do not make it easier. At times it is as if Dick is speaking another language all together!"_

Either Robin knew when to drop a subject, or his attention span was completely diverted by the staff he suddenly remembered he was holding, but regardless the conversation underwent an odd shift. "Say Kory, you know how to fight with a staff?"

The alien's eyes lit up. She may not have understood the mind of a horny teenage boy, but the art of combat was something in which Koriand'r was most fluent. "Of course," she said with a smile as she grabbed a wooden staff from a weapons shelf. "I have been trained in all forms of armed and unarmed combat known by the Warlords of Okaara—and few armies in the universe are more skilled than they."

"Warlords of Okaara?" asked Dick with one eyebrow raised. "Are they part of the Empire or the Rebels?"

"Um," stammered Kory, "I believe they once squashed a rebel insurrection, if that is of what you speak?"

"But I thought the Rebels won in the end?"

_Robin: "Could she be more clueless?...Eh, what do I care, she's f---ing gorgeous!"_

_Starfire: "I try my best to understand what everybody means here, but it is so difficult sometimes I fear I will never get it. I am the Princess of Tamaran and a seasoned warrior and I cannot even make small talk with him?_

_"Well, even if I cannot understand his words at least he is pleasant to look at."_

"So why do you wish to learn the art of staff combat?" Starfire asked, deciding to change the subject to something she actually knew about for once. "You seem much more adamant than I would expect."

Dick looked at his staff then sighed. "Light made a fool out of me…and I got cocky. It's been years since I had to learn a whole new set of skills, and I kind of forgot I had to work at it. I'm used to being the best—and honestly I _am_ the best—but I worked damn hard to get there.

"And I'm not leaving this room today until I've mastered every one of these weapons. Having traveled world-wide with Haley's Circus I've got a couple martial arts disciplines under my belt, but I never had a chance to work with a staff. But that's one of the weapons Jupiter gave me, and I'm going to learn to use it!"

Koriand'r was impressed. "Of course, you realize that I am…much stronger than you are. You could get hurt."

"Well, I'd rather get beaten by a hot chick than some thug," smiled Robin. "Do what you must, I'm ready for anything."

_Starfire: "Just when you think you know somebody! I may not understand this world, but some things are the same no matter where you are. No matter what Donna says, he has the heart of a warrior."_

Of course, Starfire never hesitated to speak her mind. "You are a true warrior, Dick Grayson."

His ego inflated even more, Robin's smile spread until it covered the entire bottom of his face. "Hell, and here I just thought I was hot and talented."

**CYBORG'S WORKSHOP**

Compared to the training room the workshop provided for Cyborg was much smaller, but it still took an entire floor of the titanic tower. Machines of every sort lined the walls and floors—what precious little space they didn't take was filled with spare parts and assorted gizmos. Victor Stone now stood hunched over a workbench, happily toying with a fragile disk of minute circuitry. A tiny blue flame flew from one of his fingers, a more than suitable replacement for a large blowtorch.

_Cyborg: "I'd always been a pretty good student I guess, but still I was never really into school. I was an athlete. I could be inside acing a quiz, but the whole time I'd be daydreaming that I was outside, catching a pass, making a tackle, winning a race. I always knew I'd be in the pros one day. I _never doubted_ it._

_"Then the accident happened. After that, even if I'd have been allowed to play, it wouldn't have been a challenge anymore. I was the freakin' million dollar man—stronger, faster, all that stuff. It just wasn't fun when I knew I couldn't lose._

_"For a long time _life_ in general just wasn't fun. Y'know, I can kinda relate with Wally, 'cause I sure as hell know I felt like that for the longest time. I had a lot of great people help me through that time, when I couldn't help myself. And as soon as I was out of my funk, I made sure I'd never be helpless again._

_"So the first thing I did was master robotics. I mean, my tech is the only reason I'm still alive, and I wouldn't always have somebody around to repair me if something bad happened. To my surprise, it was interesting—_really _interesting. Enough that now I'm totally into it, even in my free time. Tech has opened a whole new door to me. And with it, I can keep bettering myself too._

_"As an athlete I was constantly able to better myself, push myself to new limits. Maybe my robotics define my physical abilities now, but not my mental. I can better myself like this instead. Tech gave me back my control of my life. It's a good feeling."_

As Vic fused the last few resisters and microcircuits together, dozens of alarms blared in his head. He could hear the intruder, see it on several spectrums of light—even the room's security system brought an alert to life in his bionic eye. If the machine-man wanted to, he could have turned and blasted it to oblivion—but he knew it wasn't a threat.

Instead, Victor Stone just smiled. "C'mon Gar, you know you can't sneak up on me."

Behind the cyborg a tiny green spider grew larger until the spindly frame of Garfield Logan, the amazing Beast Boy, was hanging upside down on a gossamer thread. It may have had the proportionate strength of steel, but Gar no longer had the proportionate _size_ of a spider, and as the changeling regained full size the thread snapped and sent him sprawling to the floor, lying flat on his back.

_Beast Boy: "Gah, I can never get that Spider-Man crap to work!"_

Crawling to his feet and dusting off his tights, Beast Boy leaned over the massive metal man's shoulder and stared at his new invention. "So, what'cha workin' on?"

Cyborg grinned as a hatch in his fluorescent blue shoulder popped open, and he inserted the chip into an empty slot. "It's an invention to use against Dr. Light if he attacks us again."

A perplexed look fell across the green kid's face. "Um, isn't he, like, in a coma?"

Vic shrugged. "How long do you think that'll last? Guys like him always come back, and when he does I'm going to be prepared."

Though Gar Logan was half-listening, much of his attention had been captured by a large, blue contraption resembling a hair dryer. Still, he managed to mumble a, "So what's it do?"

As Gar poked at the contraption, it tipped back and forth slowly until it fell and hit the ground, shattering into thousands of pieces. Suddenly he found his tiny arm in Victor's vice-like grip.

"Can't tell ya'," he said as he pressed a button and a tiny, self propelled vacuum rolled onto the scene to clean the debris. "Everything we say is getting aired on television, bro. If Light is watching then all my work would be for nothing!"

"Oh. Yeah."

_Beast Boy: "Note to self: check to make sure I'm not giving away secrets by sleep-talking again."_

Watching happily as his invention rolled back to whence it came to unload the mess, Cyborg didn't even look at his friend as he asked, "So, why'd you sneak down here anyway? In the mood to wreck my stuff?"

Gar blushed and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Nah, I'm hiding from Donna. I want nothing to do with her stupid training."

The machine man was sincerely confused. "What? Why?"

_Cyborg: "I mean, sure Donna'll probably be a little self-righteous about it, but it's not like we don't need some training. You think acting like a team would be easy, but I've re-watched the data I got from the Light fight and man was it a mess!_

_"Raven had Light beat early on until Wally knocked him away, I attacked Donna as well as Light, and we had no strategy or plan. I mean, the only reason we survived was 'cause Dr. Light didn't either._

_"We _need_ a little training, I think."_

"Oh please Vic, you know why," sighed Beast Boy. "She doesn't want to teach us to fight better, she just wants to make herself look good! Besides, I've already got teamwork down-pat. She keeps forgetting I was a part of the Doom Patrol! I've got just as much right to train you guys as she does!"

Trying not to offend Gar, Vic paused a second to think before he began. "Well… I really don't know if anybody would…well…_listen_ to you, bro."

Beast Boy released a deep, frustrated breath. "Yeah, everybody here treats me like a kid." Pausing for a second, the green kid slowly looked towards his mechanical buddy. "Heck, even you did back in that battle! What was with telling me to stay back?"

Even the metallic half of Victor Stone's face blushed as he took a hesitant step backwards.

_Cyborg: "Damn. I've got no excuse for that one."_

"Well," stammered the metal man, "I just didn't want you to get hurt—I didn't want _anybody_ to get hurt."

_Cyborg: "I mean, that's why I'm here: to stop people from getting hurt. To be selfless after all that wasted time being selfish."_

Gar growled. "Yeah, but then your attack tagged Donna too!" His growl turned thoughtful as he scratched his chin. "Maybe we need the training after all…"

Suddenly Wonder Girl's voice boomed from the loudspeaker. "Attention all Titans! Combat practice starts in five minutes in the training room! Attendance is _mandatory_!"

Finishing his thought, Beast Boy quickly spat, "But doesn't mean I'm going to be there!" In a split second he was out of sight, most likely a green fly buzzing through the room somewhere.

The cybernetic eye of Victor Stone lit up as he snickered to himself. "Nice try Gar, but you know I can find you no matter how small you get!"

**THE BEDROOM HALLWAY**

The long hall that contained the entrances to the rooms of the seven teens looked empty to the naked eye—however, that limitation didn't really apply to half the members of the new team. Air rippling in one corner of the room, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it sign that Speed was hiding out here, wasn't even what tipped off his teammate to his hiding-spot.

Really, Raven could find_ anybody_ with the only the most minimal of effort, as long as they _felt._ And honestly, everybody feels emotion. Well, perhaps everybody besides the empath herself.

Thus, in typical Raven fashion a bird-shaped field of pure darkness exploded around the specter, prompting him to quickly take solid form as she emerged from the black.

"You better cut that out," growled Wally, "Before you give somebody a heart attack."

The eerie, glowing white eyes of Raven arched. "You know you have no literal heart, Speed. That is not an issue here."

The speedster's energy-formed teeth gnashed. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me witch."

_Speed: "Not like I don't have to realize that myself every day…"_

_Raven: "I can obviously feel that it is a very touchy subject for Speed, but if this is so then he should not have used the euphemism in the first place. It is pointless to hold my tongue just to account for his carelessness."_

"The insults are not appreciated," said the empath as she turned up her nose to her teammate. "And your anger never has been. It is _consuming_ you—I sense that you can think of nothing else. Tell me, why are you even _here_?"

Wally West just rolled his eyes. "None of your business."

_Speed: "Believe me, you'll find out when everybody else does. I sure don't intend to keep it quiet."_

Not yet feeling vindicated, not even wanting to hear Raven's response, the energy being spat more malice. "And don't talk about my anger consuming me. I'd like to see _you_ handle losing everything! What are you, some spoiled little witch goddess thingy that can do anything she wants with her powers? Don't judge me until you've gone through _half_ of what I have!"

The tension in the air was thick enough to be cut with a knife. Raven was looming over Wally, almost seeming to grow larger. "You would be wise to take your own advice, Speed, lest I show you some of _my_ life."

_Raven: "If there is anything more prevalent than stupidity in mankind, it is hypocrisy. It is an epidemic."_

The two unnatural beings exchanged heated stares for a second before Raven finally decided to stop spending her energies on the pointless dispute. "Regardless, Wonder Girl has summoned us for battle practice. Why are you hiding?"

Even Speed couldn't help to laugh at how obvious the answer to her question was. "'Cause Donna's an arrogant b----, duh."

Not necessarily disagreeing, the empath shrugged. "That is what provides drama, Speed: conflict. And the fans want drama. Now, I suggest you come with me, lest you not last long enough here for whatever little surprise you have in store."

_Speed: "Conflict? Drama? Oh, I'll give them that all right. In _spades_."_

"Fine," Wally spat with venom in his voice, "You win this time." In a yellow flash he was gone, tiny flames following his trail on the floor.

Raven didn't look proud of fulfilling her mission—in fact she hoped to seem emotionless as she prepared to teleport back to the others. However, though she wouldn't show it on camera or _dare_ admit it to the confessional, the witch eagerly hoped to have a chance to screw with Speed's head. He _deserved_ it.

**OFF THE AIR—LOREN JUPITER'S OFFICE**

"You want me to LOSE?!" Mr. Loren Jupiter, director of _The Real World: Titans Tower_, lay flat on his butt on the floor of his office, the remains of his desk scattered around him. It looked like a war zone, but all that damage had been done by a single fist—that of Slade Wilson, Deathstroke, the most deadly mercenary alive.

Jupiter wanted Slade to take on his team of Titans and lose, thus making them look good in the process—and raising ratings through the roof, or so the fashion-challenged director hoped. Of course, Slade had _never_ lost—a man of his stature wouldn't even _dream_ of it!

"Can one consider it losing, Deathstroke," began Jupiter as he slowly inched backwards, trembling, hoping to be able to regain his footing, "When you're being paid to do it? When you're fulfilling your contract? Your professional standing won't be hurt one bit."

Slade didn't look impressed by his logic. "Doubtful. This is airing on television, and to keep your charade running you can't explain it to your viewers."

Despite his situation, Jupiter allowed himself a laugh. "I doubt anybody with the money to hire you is in our demographic."

Raising an eyebrow, Deathstroke simply said, "You never know who will need somebody killed."

"Five times your normal salary," bartered Loren, not waiting for the discussion to go any farther. He pressed a switch hidden in the wall behind his desk, and five suitcases stuffed with money emerged from secret compartments in the other walls.

Giving them a quick glance, Slade didn't seem impressed. "Ten," he began with his normal calm, cold tone. "Ten times for me to even consider it."

Loren Jupiter's heart skipped a beat. Even _he_ didn't have that kind of money! Fortunately for him, as he scanned his office he noticed something possibly even more valuable that he _did _have.

"Five times, plus this," Jupiter said, smiling as he presented Deathstroke with the comatose body of Dr. Light.

The masked mercenary scoffed. "What do you expect me to do with that?"

For once, Jupiter's inside info came in handy. "Please, I've heard what you did to your children." Slade grunted. "Mind control serum would go perfect with this empty shell of a light-controlling super-villain."

He wanted to not be interested, but that offer seemed too good. What a perfect _weapon_ he could be! Still, that wasn't everything to this deal. "What other restrictions are there? What about civilians?"

Jupiter's grin almost even crept out Deathstroke. "I don't care about them. Do what it takes to make this_ fantastic!_ Just don't use Light yet—too suspicious."

If one imagined hard enough, it might just be possible that Slade was _smiling_ under his mask. "Jupiter, we might just have ourselves a deal."

**ON THE AIR—TITANS TOWER, TRAINING ROOM**

Wonder Girl floated above the her six teammates, a pointer stick in hand, glaring down at them like she was Patton, ready to deliver a speech and send them to war. They, however, weren't quite so intense.

Beast Boy yawned and in general looked distracted, wishing he could be anywhere but here. The gnashing of the energy Speed used as teeth filled the room like bass thumping from a ricer. The shadow of Raven's cloak obscured even her eyes, and her body didn't move—it was possible her mind was somewhere else entirely, in meditation. Though grumpy his personal training had been interrupted, Robin's gaze moved back and forth between Kory and Donna, reminding him how lucky a guy he was to be here. Of course, Starfire herself eagerly anticipated the combat part of the practice—and Cyborg was eager to work out the kinks in the team's cooperation.

"Okay guys, I think we've _all_ seen how bad our teamwork was in the fight with Dr. Light." Donna started floating back and forth, slowly tapping the pointer in the palms of her delicate hands. "Obviously, something must be done if we don't want to _die_—or if we want to at least have at least a tiny sense of professionalism."

_Speed: "I love her sense of priority."_

"Some of you may not like it," continued the Amazon, her pacing-like floating coming to a pause for a second as she turned towards her audience, "But we need a field leader—someone to make the tough calls in battle and actually organize things. Due to my experience with the Justice League in the past, I think I should be the one appointed to the role." Suddenly her gruff expression sweetened—probably falsely—as she flashed a smile. "Any objections?"

"Would it matter?" grumbled Wally under his breath.

Meanwhile, Gar tried to get the nerve to say something. "Well, I was in the Doom Patrol…I know all about teamwork."

Raising an eyebrow, Wonder Girl commented, "Aren't they dead?" Gar blushed.

_Beast Boy: "Well, yeah…but it's not 'cause they weren't good! They sacrificed their lives to save civilians! You're just mad 'cause they were probably the only heroes around that didn't join the League!"_

"I think you'd be perfect for the job, WG!" Dick called, winking. "Everybody needs a leader they look up to! I'd love to look up to you!"

_Robin: "Especially if you were wearing a skirt…"_

_Wonder Girl: "Well, the only support I'm getting is from Dick—surprise surprise. Oh well, I didn't think this would be easy. But in the end, they'll be thanking me for this. We'll be a team any self-respecting hero could be proud of."_

Taking the lackluster reception in stride, the Wonder Girl marched on. "If everybody cooperates this should be easy. If it's hard, it's only cause you're making it hard."

Dick Grayson leapt at the chance. "Baby, if I'm hard you're probably to—"

"Don't finish that."

Wonder Girl's growl was enough to even stop the horn dog in his tracks. Beast Boy snickered under his breath.

"If we're going to look professional, there can't be any comments like that in battle. Present yourself as you want to be seen."

Again, it was too much for the acrobat to resist. "You mean in a swimsuit, girls swarming around me?"

"Enough you two!" In an instant Cyborg was between the two, holding them at arms length, not even giving Donna a chance to retaliate. "Quit egging her on," he growled as he pushed Robin back. "And _you_," he continued, turning his sights for Wonder Girl, "If you're going to be our leader, you better watch your temper."

_Speed: "Good going tin man. Put her in her place."_

This time it was Donna's turn to blush.

"I think I speak for everybody here when I say I don't want to get my ass kicked again," Victor continued, not pleased with what he'd seen. "We can grow into a respectable super team—teach us to fight together and be coordinated. That's why we're here!"

"Yes," Wonder Girl said, a little humbled—and very much embarrassed, though she didn't want to admit it and humiliate herself even _more_. "I was going to get to that, but Cyborg's right, that's what we need to work on first."

_Beast Boy: "Yes, now that's my buddy! Way to go Vic!"_

_Starfire: "I have not yet seen Donna's true skills at _teaching_, but as of now I say that Vic would make a perfect leader!"_

_Cyborg: "I know Donna has the experience to show us some really cool stuff, and I know we all have the skill to follow it and be great. We just need some prodding I think…"_

"Well, shall we get started then?"

**THE NEXT DAY**

Twenty-four hours later, the Teen Titans again stood in the same line up. Countless books could be filled with their first day of training—it would likely be entitled "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly."

However, somehow a slight order had been found. The barest fringes of a team was formed. If nothing else, these teens could be called "competent."

"Okay guys!" exclaimed Wonder Girl, her whole face lit up in excitement. "After yesterday I'm really psyched to be here! I think today we can really get this down pat and move on to some even more important points!"

Suddenly a giant view-screen came to life—Loren Jupiter's mug greeting his champions with a conceited, calm expression.

"My Titans, I have your first mission."

"About time," grumbled Wally West. "Every time we've seen you you've been going on about this!"

Jupiter chuckled. "Sorry Wally, but super-villainous crimes don't grow on trees. And this isn't going to be easy. Just watch!"

As quickly as it had appeared the director's face was gone, replaced by an imposing masked figure. He had a gorgeous, buxom blonde held in his grip, a sword to her neck.

"My name is Deathstroke," announced the villain, his voice sending chills down the Titans' spines. He seemed not to even notice his hostage's struggling as he continued. "If the Teen Titans do not arrive—and _only _the Titans—in the next fifteen minutes, this girl will die."

As the mercenary finished his statement, the camera panned back to reveal that Slade was standing on the roof of a large building—and as the camera scanned the rest of the block, he decided to add, "Not to mention everybody else in this entire block. I do hope to see you here, Titans."

_Robin: "Finally. A chance to prove myself!"_

_Wonder Girl: "Finally, a chance to prove ourselves!"_

_Raven: "Finally, a moron I can actually do something about."_

_Cyborg: "Finally, a chance to do some good!"_

"Well?" interrupted Jupiter. "You guys going?"

The Titans nodded.

"You bet!"

Next time: A Chance to Shine!


	4. A Chance to Shine!

Disclaimer: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. All credits for these characters go to them and other talented creators such as Geoff Johns and the staff of the animated series. Of course, the new directions are my idea and hopefully such a fusion of talent doesn't cause the universe to explode.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Episode 4: A Chance to Shine!**

**ROLE CALL: **

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

**OFF THE AIR—SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA, USA**

High atop the tallest building in San Francisco stood a man named Slade Wilson—better known as Deathstroke, the most deadly mercenary alive. For decades he'd been hired to kill, and he'd never failed. The imposing one-eyed man, dressed in black and gray body armor and a vented black mask that disguised his face, had never been caught—not even once—for his crimes. He was famous in the super-villain community—almost _worshipped_. In the super-hero community, he was _infamous._

Today, however, he was involved in a most unusual job. He was not hired to _kill_—on the contrary, he was being paid to _hold back_. To make his enemies _look good_. And in the end, to _lose_.

Slade most certainly did not like that idea—but the price was right. And thus, the elaborate hostage situation was created to draw the Teen Titans to him. In his arms was a buxom blonde, screaming with all her might as she fought vainly to escape his vice-like hold on her. The mercenary didn't even notice her struggle as he kept his sights towards Titans Tower, the 'T' shaped home of the seven reality TV stars. He could already see them loading onto their ship.

Of course, his attention was diverted by loud, chopping noises moving closer. The air around him blew into tiny whirlwinds as several news helicopters surrounded the building, cameramen eagerly leaning out the doors looking for a good shot.

Suddenly Mr. Loren Jupiter's voice was in Deathstroke's ear. "Eliminate them," commanded the director over a tiny earpiece. "We need to monopolize the story to drive up the ratings."

"Roger that," replied Slade as he tossed his hostage aside like a used cigarette. Before the girl's fall was even over he had already snapped pieces of weaponry from his belt together into a collapsible grenade launcher. With four rapid and precise shots—followed by four corresponding explosions—the choppers and their passengers were nothing but rubble, ashes and smoke.

Without even a second thought, he casually turned his attention to the hostage. She was running towards the stairwell, with what Slade couldn't help but notice was the trained stride of a professional athlete. Suddenly her escape was cut short by a line of automatic fire.

"Now now, can't have any witnesses running away." The girl turned, her face gnarled in vicious rage, as her captor sauntered lazily towards her, a machine gun in hand.

"You won't get away with this, you bastard," she growled, her curled blonde bangs falling across her face as she stepped backwards. "I'm a part of the Kane family, one of the richest families in the world! Hurt me and it'll be _all over_ the news! They'll hunt you like an animal!"

"I'm a hunter myself, my dear," said the mercenary. "I know how they work. How they _think_. I won't be caught. And your pitiful little fortune—" Suddenly Slade was in the girl's face, moving like a black streak, his finger pressed up against her pretty little nose. "—Is nothing compared to what I've made over the years. I'm _untouchable_, my dear."

"Not today you aren't! Get your hands off her!"

With a gleeful smile hidden behind his mask, Deathstroke span to see the 'T' ship floating beside him, seven angry teenage superheroes peeking out the door, just waiting to get their hands on him.

"Now the fun begins."

**ON THE AIR**

"You want me to get my hands off her?" In a blinding flash of gray and black Slade span into a backhand that sent his hostage sprawling off the side of the building. "Done."

"I've got her!" Before any of the fliers on the team could even react Robin leapt from the T-ship, keeping his arms and legs tight against his body in order to fall as quickly as possible.

_Beast Boy: "Dude, this Deathstroke guy is freakin' psycho!"_

_Wonder Girl: "Hera, if Dick gets himself killed because of his stupid ego…"_

_Robin: "There wasn't really time to think about it…if I have the chance to grab some hot chick from mid-air, I'm gonna take it!"_

Spit flew from the sides of the acrobat's mouth as he plunged closer and closer to the ground, finally catching up to the screaming Ms. Kane. He pulled her into his grasp, his cape catching the air like a glider as he did so, steadying their fall. Of course, even at their slowed pace they were still prime candidates to become street pizza—until Robin pulled a grappling hook and shot it into the side of the building, rappelling down it until both teenagers were on the ground safe.

_Robin: "That was awesome!"_

Dick didn't even have a moment to say anything before the saved damsel still resting in his arms pulled his face close and laid one on him sure to bring home a MTV "best kiss" award.

_Robin: "And the perks!"_

Meanwhile, Deathstroke still had six more heroes to deal with. "Well, you called us?" asked Wonder Girl, floating from the jet's open door to approach the mercenary. "What do you want?"

"I want the same thing I always want: my payment," he stated coldly. "And I get it once I've killed all of you, my dear."

Suddenly Slade dashed forward, leaping over the side of the building. As he tumbled backwards through the air he pressed a button on the side of his belt. In response, the building exploded!

Debris from the top five floors of the building filled the air, as the force of the blast sent the T-Ship reeling backwards.

"S---!" exclaimed Cyborg as he leapt into the pilot's seat. "I think he blew our entire calibrations off!" Wires shot from all over the mechanical portions of his body and connected into jacks built into the cockpit.

_Cyborg: "Even though I could build this ship, I'm not the best at piloting yet. Of course, for even that problem tech has a solution! When push comes to shove, I can connect to the ship and sync up its programming with mine! Then piloting this thing 'comes as easy as moving my body!"_

Of course, while his teammates dealt with the disaster, lips were still locked as wreckage rained down around them—like the climatic final scene in a war flick.

"Bette!" cried a ferocious voice. Both Dick and the young Miss Bette Kane looked up to see an imposing middle-aged woman charging forth. She more a modest yet classy dress and a stern expression. "What are you doing?! Get over here!"

Before either teen could protest the woman had grabbed the former hostage's arm and pulled her doggedly from the acrobat. "But Mom!" she complained, to no avail.

"Quiet, Bette," growled her mother. "This town has become too dangerous, and you too wild! I'm sending you out east to visit your Aunt Kathy! Maybe she can smack some sense into you!"

The lovebirds exchanged quick, sad glances as she was dragged away.

_Robin: "Aw. Oh well, she was fun while she lasted."_

So finally Dick's attention was drawn back to the battle as he heard someone land behind him—the boy span and found himself face-to-face with Deathstroke.

"You're not a very good hero," chastised the mercenary. "Kissing the girl instead of evacuating the citizens? Or finding me? He was right, you _do_ still have much to learn."

"Oh, I'm a _great_ hero," smiled Robin as he took a martial arts stance. "'Cause I'm gonna' kick your ass!"

Slade's hand moved to his machine gun. "Let's see you try." However, before he could fire Deathstroke heard the unmistakable sound of incoming fire, and with minimal effort leapt above a shimmering green streak of energy. Shifting his weight he strafed past a second, and ducked beneath a third.

The Tamaranian warrior Starfire screamed as another Starbolt sizzled in the palm of her hand, but even she wasn't fast enough to counter Slade's attack. As he rose from his last evasion he pulled the trigger, sending a stream of gunfire into the alien girl's chest.

"Kory!" screamed Dick as she skidded past him. However, Koriand'r only lay still a few seconds before she pulled herself to her feet, clutching her injury. As she pulled her hand away Robin expected to see a deep, gory wound—but instead there was only welts!

_Robin: "It's like she got hit by a freakin' paintball gun!"_

_Starfire: "Fortunately, the weaponry on Earth is not designed to penetrate my dense Tamaranian skin. This should prove to be advantageous."_

The usual smile returned to Dick Grayson's face as he saw the beautiful warrior rise unharmed. "Looks like you're in trouble, d---head," he laughed. "We're just too much for you!"

"Hey, look everybody! Robin's right for once!" growled Speed as he appeared behind the two, followed by the rest of the team. Wonder Girl floated above them all, trying her hardest to appear stern and intimidating.

"Give it up, Deathstroke," demanded Donna. "You should know that there's no way for even you to take all seven of us at once."

"Of _course_ I do, my dear. I wasn't planning on fighting you all at _once_…" In one lightning fast motion Slade's hands moved across his belt, flipping half a dozen switches. Suddenly the ground rumbled as explosions rocked buildings up and down the block. "It simply wouldn't be prudent."

_Wonder Girl: "Damn him to Hades! I can't believe I was stupid enough to think he would fight us head on! Of course he's going to try to distract us, split us up, and pick us off one by one! And the worst part is that…I think it might work. We can't ignore the innocents who were still inside those buildings!"_

Beast Boy looked back and forth, panicked and confused. "What's going on?!" he cried. "He have exploding powers or something?!"

"No," replied Cyborg quickly as his sensors scanned the block. "He must have planted explosives here ahead of time! I can't believe how prepared he was!"

"There's no time for this!" snapped Wonder Girl as she beckoned her team towards the disaster. "Saving them is more important than Deathstroke!"

Of course, this didn't sit well with the some of the team. "So are we to let him escape?" demanded Starfire. "I refuse!"

_Starfire: "Certainly all of us are not needed for the rescue! I will not let him get away with this injustice! I will not let Deathstroke do this again!"_

"Escape?" Amused, Slade decided to put in his two cents. "Why would I escape? What would that get me?" Holding up his machine gun, the mercenary tapped the barrel. "Oh, I'll be _around_."

A growl escaped from Robin's throat as he pondered the madman's threat.

_Robin: "Y'know, I came here today fully expecting to shine. This is my chance. I can't ignore it! Yet…I feel more now. I can't let this bastard take pot-shots at my teammates while they try to rescue people! And honestly, what can I do to help? Hell, I'm not even sure I can do _this_, but I don't have much'uva choice. Somebody's got to keep the d--- busy, and it might as well be me._

_"This, my loyal and hopefully beautiful fans, is what separates the men from the boys. Well that and a big…well, I think you get the picture."_

"Get going you guys!" yelled Dick as he leapt forward, his cape billowing behind him. "I can take Deathstroke! You have more important things to do!"

"Dick!" exclaimed Koriand'r in shock and worry—she couldn't let him fight alone—of course, she wasn't the only Titan objected to his snap decision.

"Are you f---ing insane?!" exclaimed Donna Troy.

_Beast Boy: "Uh-oh…as if we weren't already in a war-zone as it is, now Wonder Girl's going to set off the Richter Scale…"_

Grumbling, Robin retorted, "No, I'm not! Somebody has to stop _him_ from stopping _you_ from rescuing those guys!"

"Which," interrupted Cyborg, "We should be doing right about now!" As if in response to his cry another girder rocked loose, starting its plummet towards the crowded city streets.

"Guess we don't have much of a choice," sighed Wonder Girl, before turning to face Dick. "Screw up and you're history, got it?"

Flashing his trademark smile, Robin showed that he wasn't scared.

"Then may the Gods be with you." Wonder Girl and the other Titans faded into the smoke, left to set straight what Slade had made wrong.

_Speed: "He's going to get massacred. 10 to 1 odds."_

Now Robin and Deathstroke were alone, and they both strafed sideways, neither daring to break eye-contact.

_Robin: "Oh c'mon Dick, super-hero rule #1 is that you always start a fight with witty banter!"_

"So," began the teen with a snarky tone completely inappropriate to the occasion, "Is that your costume or did an elephant throw up on your suit?"

_Robin: "Us circus folks have entirely different experiences than the rest of you. Believe me, that's just 'bout what it'd look like."_

Dick was greeted in response to his question with a spree of gun fire straight in the chest. He was sent sprawling backwards, his limbs flailing like a rag doll's, but maybe things weren't quite what they seemed.

Spinning so fast it was nearly invisible to the naked eye, a razor-tipped red and yellow boomerang soared past the mercenary and sliced the muzzle straight off his weapon. For once Slade wore a rather shocked expression—he should have noticed that!

Somersaulting out of his fall, Robin landed on his feet and brushed the dirt off of his costume. "'Gotta love body armor," he whispered happily to himself.

"The body armor was expected," began Slade, "but I'm happily surprised you could still attack even when shot."

"Hey," smiled Dick, "That's why I'm the best."

"Cocky. Besides, I've been considered the best since before you were even born."

"Prove it."

"Sounds fun."

**THE RESCUE ATTEMPT**

Time was of the essence. Fortunately to the Teen Titans, they were on the scene as the crisis hit, but even then buildings were crumbling and lives being lost before the six could even act.

Donna Troy bit her lower lip and announced her first official command as field leader. "Raven, can you catch the debris? Keep it from crushing anymore people or letting anyone fall?"

_Wonder Girl: "One of the most important parts of being in command is knowing your team's strengths and how they'll be of use in any situation. In this situation, it will be much easier to evacuate the people if the buildings are stable."_

Raven, however, was huddled up, shaking, obviously overwhelmed. "No," she said, her voice wavering. "It is too much to hold up at once with all this…all this…"

_Raven: "At my best perhaps I could have performed Wonder Girl's task, but with all the emotional chaos…all the panic was overwhelming. Imagine the emotions of hundreds and hundreds of people rushing into your head at once, each at their emotional peak, each so obsessively concerned with their own fragile existence that nothing else can exist. It was a wonder I could function at all."_

There wasn't time to stop and come up with a back-up plan—fortunately, Cyborg already had one. "Speed!" called the machine man. "Can you steal the speed of all the buildings and debris?"

"Yeah, that's one thing I _can_ do," grumbled Wally as his body dissolved, opening a portal straight into the Speed Force. Golden energy flooded the entire block, the momentum from the explosions being sucked into the Titan like a black hole. Girders, walls and other debris froze in mid-air. The fires extinguished, as with the speed needed for the chemicals to react and create them gone they could no longer exist.

If one listened hard enough, they could have heard a pin drop. While the other Titans marveled, Donna just grumbled slightly.

_Beast Boy: "Heh, I guess here's our reason to keep Wally around…"_

_Wonder Girl: "Of course, having a back-up plan is always good too. Fast thinking Vic…though I would have gotten to it in a sec more."_

"It should take a couple hours for this stuff to fall," began Speed, "but I may not be able to hold out that long. To steal speed I need to sever all that crap's connection to the Speed Force, and that takes a lot of concentration. Move it!"

"You heard him gang!" repeated Donna. "Move it!"

_Speed: "Ugh. Can she take this more seriously?"_

"Of course. I shall!" Starfire pointed both of her golden skinned hands in different directions, Starbolts erupting and flying haphazardly like the rays of exploding fireworks. Of course, despite that image, they were all amazingly precise and each destroyed walls that were blocking people from escaping. "The faster we do this the faster we can get back to Dick!"

With a grunt Wonder Girl pulled away a chunk of stone and let several stranded civilians climb onto her back. "Robin," she said as she floated past Koriand'r. "He's Robin. When we're on missions, always call us by our code-names."

The Tamaranian's nose crinkled in confusion. "Why? Our identities are public knowledge, are they not? Or are we expecting our opponents to not watch television?"

As Starfire let the residents climb onto her back—one fearless kid even copping a feel—Donna just shook her head. "Of course not, Starfire. It just sounds more professional."

_Starfire: "She certainly has…odd priorities."_

Meanwhile, as Beast Boy moved to take action, he was held back by a mechanical arm. "Hold it Gar—I mean, Beast Boy," corrected Cyborg, glaring out of the corner of his eye at his team leader.

_Cyborg: "Yeah, I think it's stupid to have to call each other by code names, but she's the one leading us and I'm going to show her respect. Seeing as some of the others want to lynch her already, I think I owe it to her."_

A confused look spread slowly across Garfield Logan's face. "Why're we waiting?!"

Holding out one finger as a sign for the green kid to hush, Victor Stone rubbed his right hand against the wall, his mechanical eye blinking. After a few seconds, he found what he wanted. "Ah, here we go," he said, smiling as his hand folded back into his Sonic Cannon. One tiny blast of blue echoed through the wall, and only a few seconds later the entire side of the building crumbled.

Gar's eyes grew to the size of saucers. "Wow."

"I just determined the one point of the wall that, under attack, would make it fall down instantly," smiled Vic, as if it were a common feat. "C'mon little guy, do your thing."

Instantly Beast Boy snapped back to his senses. "Oh yeah," he said with a chuckle and a blush as his body stretched and grew into a green giraffe. One of the trapped residents stepped back in fear, but Gar just nudged him with his nose then lowered his head. Soon all the residents were sliding down his neck like kids at a playground.

_Beast Boy: "Hahahaha, that tickles!"_

Even Raven was getting into the spirit of things, the crushing panic of the trapped citizens slowly going away as the Titans pulled them out of the shattered buildings one-by-one. The empath's cloak sprang to life, engulfing walls in black and pulling them apart, providing floating platforms to more efficiently evacuate them.

Of course, the more people the Titans rescued, the less room they had to hold them. As the streets became more and more crowded the mob even started to pass through Wally, who was in his energy form as he slowed the fall of the rubble.

_Speed: "Stupid jerks. I don't like people enough to be putting up with this."_

"Yo Wonder Girl!" called the speed specter. "It's pretty freaking hard to concentrate with all these people down here!""

With a grunt Donna Troy threw aside a pile of fallen steel and brick before replying. "Don't worry Speed, we're just about done I think!"

"Then you think wrong," interjected Raven. "There are still dozens more trapped within, further back. We must work smarter and faster to retrieve them—I feel some getting weaker as we speak.."

"And don't forget," added Vic, "Deathstroke is back there! We should get them evacuated before any more damage happens here!"

_Cyborg: "I just hope Dick is 'kay while we're doing that…but he made the commitment like the rest of us. We're heroes, and we can't just leave people to beat up bad guys!"_

Wonder Girl frowned. "Then Raven's right, we need to really hustle it up here." Suddenly an idea clicked in the girl's head. "Hey Raven, think you can make something to get all the people out of here?"

A sigh came from the discontented empath. "More than likely, but it will take much effort."

_Wonder Girl: "Um…of course it will. Nobody on my team is going to have any excuse to be lazy!"_

Despite her objections, Raven quickly went to work as inky tentacles of untainted black leapt from her cloak, hard at work on trying to get the citizens out of there before disaster could strike.

"Starry, blast away two meters to your left!" commanded Cyborg. "My infrared eye is picking up several trapped citizens back there!"

"You have it!" replied the alien as she launched a Starbolt, turning a wall into crumbling pebbles and dust with just one green explosion. As she peered inside for her rescue, she couldn't help but to sigh.

"I do hope Dick is okay…"

**ROBIN VS. DEATHSTROKE**

Dick Grayson had sure had given himself a big enough first assignment—he was currently engaged in mortal combat with the most deadly mercenary alive, Deathstroke! The two had been walking in circles, never breaking eye combat, for the last five minutes. The witty banter had only lasted for two.

Slade could have waited it out forever. After all, back in Vietnam he spied on the Vietcong for two weeks in a trench—compared to that, this was nothing. However, Robin was not quite so patient—and true to his nature, he spastically lashed out with a grappling launcher, propelling himself into the air and far above his opponent.

Of course, this didn't worry Deathstroke for one second. Not even noticing how easy his maneuver was, Dick fell from the air behind the mercenary and span on his heel, preparing to transition into a kick. Unfortunately for him, he was greeted with the back-half of the gun he'd destroyed being slammed into his face!

Robin reeled backwards, blood pouring from his nostrils. "Dammit!" cried the acrobat as he wiped away the crimson liquid. "If you broke my nose I'm…I'm…"

"Going to try to threaten me and fail?" inserted Slade dryly. "I'd say you've already done that."

_Robin: "Hardy-har-har. Oh, and don't worry my lovely fans, I don't think it's broken after all. Though if it was, I just know you'd all start a collection for the plastic surgery, right?!"_

"Actually, I'll just kick your ass harder," growled the boy as he leapt to his feet—only to be greeted by more gunfire as Deathstroke nonchalantly fired off duel pistols. Leaping to the side Robin rolled into a tumble, and the shots from the two guns just tore through his trailing cape.

Rolling upright, Dick tossed two tiny disks that whirled towards his nemesis like Frisbees. Somewhere far beneath his inhuman mask Slade was smiling—Robin was attempting to disarm him, but they were far too easy a target for that to even work. It was a common tactic, and one he never got tired of trouncing.

Two bullets pierced the disks, Deathstroke getting his perfect shot as he'd assumed. However, as the devices shattered deep smoke exploded from within, filling the air in mere seconds. Slade was suddenly in a fog thicker than what he'd seen on his last job in England!

_Robin: "That'll teach anybody to underestimate me. I know a bit of strategy m'self, you see, and playing on the 'obvious' response to throw somebody off is one of the better ones out there."_

The mercenary barely had time to grumble over his own stupid mistake before Robin came somersaulting through the smoke, whirling into a fierce kick that finally landed! Slade was thrown to the side, but only stumbled a few steps. Still, it was just enough time for Robin to grab the two pistols and, after giving them a quick glance, toss them out of sight.

"Not a fan," smiled the acrobat as he reared back to attack his opponent—but was greeted just a moment faster with a gloved fist to his gut. Accompanied by a sickening thud Dick flew several feet backwards, landing on his knees.

"Shouldn't have disarmed me," advised Deathstroke as he reached for his belt. "You had me at your mercy. Should have gone for the finishing blow."

"Then why don't I do it now?!" cried the boy as he charged forward, arm reared back for a full-power punch.

Just as he would have connected Slade grabbed his arm and tossed him far over his shoulder.

_Robin: "Wow…using my own momentum against me? That's one of the oldest maneuvers there is! How the hell'd I fall for that?!"_

As he flipped in mid-air and landed on his feet, Robin realized he was starting to feel like a yo-yo, what with all this constantly getting knocked back and just coming back for more. Pulling two razor-tipped boomerangs from his belt, Dick told himself it wouldn't happen this time—even if he _was_ about to come back for more.

"You've done better than I expected," admitted Slade, "but I'm sorry to say you won't be coming back this time."

_Robin: "C'mon, the yo-yo was my analogy!"_

So distracted by the thought-plagiarism was Robin that he almost didn't notice what his opponent had assembled during his brief recovery time—the same grenade launcher he'd used to down the news helicopters!

"Holy f---ing s---," gasped Robin, his eyes as wide as full moons. He looked down at his birdarangs and suddenly felt very inadequate.

"Tell your parents hello for me in the afterlife, Grayson," Deathstroke said coldly as he fired his weapon.

_Robin: "Low blow, f---tard!"_

The insult released Dick's second wind as he somersaulted backwards, his feet landing flat on the side of a building. Suddenly flames exploded from within the bottoms of the boots, blowing the soles straight off as the blasts propelled the acrobat above the grenade's path.

_Robin: "Can only use'em once per battle, but damn! Well worth it!"_

The Titan span several times as he fell to the ground, pulling his collapsible staff from his belt as he did so. By the time one foot touched down he was already half-way through his attack—and with super-human speed Slade intercepted the staff with his sword, having abandoned the grenade launcher for close-range combat.

The blade dug deep into the metal pole, nearly severing it. Robin raised one eyebrow pitifully. "Kinda' unfair, y'think?"

"Welcome to the real world," growled Slade—not even realizing the irony of his statement considering that they were being filmed by the _Real World_ the whole time—as he freed his weapon and swung into a viciously quick assault. Dick managed to leap past it, but Deathstroke was like something from an anime as he dashed ahead, swinging his sword so fast it almost became invisible.

Robin actually dashed past a few slashes—and deflected a couple more—before his staff was sent spiraling away from his grip. "S---," growled the Titan as he barely managed to somersault over another swipe—leaving a long slash up his cape that nearly divided it in two.

"Oh come on!" exclaimed Robin as he landed. "I _liked_ that cape!"

Reminded of a movie his daughter had made him watch once, Slade stamped on the end of the boy's cape and pulled it towards him, knocking Dick Grayson's feet from beneath him and sending him falling flat onto his butt.

"You should have paid more attention to _the Incredibles_," said Slade arrogantly. "Capes are dangerous."

_Robin: "I don't care, I still like them—wait a minute, Deathstroke's seen _the Incredibles_?!"_

Deathstroke raised his sword above his head, executioner style, ready to render his prey into two. After all, Jupiter _had_ said to make it look convincing. To maybe even _defeat_ a couple. "Any last words?"

Not even waiting for an answer Slade swang—and Robin caught the blade between the palms of his hands. "Yeah," replied the acrobat as he flashed his perfect teeth. "There's a cold front coming in!"

Only then did Deathstroke notice the disk held in each of Dick's hands—but by then it was far too late to counterattack. While the insulation in the Titan's gloves protected them, Slade's sword had no such safeguards—and as it was swallowed up in the blue sparks of the exploding disks, it was quickly encased in thick ice!

Turning his wrists Robin snapped the sword in half, then rolled backwards, pulling his cape from beneath Deathstroke's feet like pulling the cloth off a table. Slade was sent falling backwards while Robin finally regained his footing, tossing a birdarang.

Seething, Slade caught the razor-tipped weapon and crushed it just by closing his fist.

_Robin: "Um…ouch?"_

Still, it was only a distraction Dick was looking for to begin with. And distract it had, as he now held his staff once again and swooped in for a vicious strike. Unfortunately, it was again intercepted, this time by a larger staff held by Slade.

"Dude," Dick cried, perplexed, "Where do you keep getting all these toys?"

"I could ask you the same," growled Slade as he parried one of Robin's strikes. "Besides, mine's bigger."

As he swiped aside an assault, Robin only replied with his trademark grin. "And mine is younger, more fun, and I'm not so ugly that I hide behind a full facemask!"

_Robin: "Maybe not the most fluid line of reasoning, but it's true nonetheless!"_

This time Slade didn't have a comeback—but he suddenly became faster, parrying his opponent's staff then managing to point the end of his own weapon at Robin's chest before he could even counter. A purple blast of energy shot from the end of Slade's staff and struck the Titan square in the stomach!

_Robin: "I want _that_ staff!"_

The staff began firing like a machine gun, and Robin looked like he was tap-dancing as he tried to leap past the rapid-fire. Unfortunately, there was just nowhere left to run, and as a last resort the teen span in mid-air, launching a weapon for the mercenary as he came off his spin.

A rope with a steel ball attached to each end span from the boy's hands and spiraled towards Slade—when it hit it whirled around him in at least a dozen rotations, ensnaring him like a boa constrictor.

_Robin: "Now I'm sure after last week's episode everybody had one thing on their mind: "What the hell is a bolo?" Well my loyal fans…_that _is a bolo."_

"Amusing," calmly stated Slade—his muscles bulged as the mercenary stretched his arms, snapping the bolo in mere seconds! "Ineffective, but amusing."

_Robin: "Of course, it's totally supposed to work better than that."_

Still, the bolo had provided yet another distraction—just what Robin needed as he kicked the power-staff out of his would-be-killer's hand. Wasting no time he thrusted into several powerful strikes, hoping to find a nerve cluster and immobilize one of Deathstroke's limbs.

Deathstroke, however, was done playing around. He was done playing by Mr. Jupiter's rules. He was _not_ going to be humiliated by some _boy_ on cable TV! He had gotten his payment upfront—what he did now needn't matter. He'd slaughter them all—yes, that's what he'd do—starting with Robin. Starting with this impudent punk jamming a pole into his stomach!

With fury coursing through his veins a punch from the mercenary shattered his opponent's staff, and Slade didn't waste a moment in grabbing the acrobat's hand and tossing him aside before spinning into an assault of his own, starting with a kick onside the teen's head. Robin reeled as Deathstroke began piling on the pain, driving punches into the poor boy's stomach like a jackhammer.

Slumping, Robin almost fell to his knees—only by grabbing onto the ammo-belt hanging across Deathstroke's chest did he keep himself off the ground.

"Normally I would offer you a painless death at this point," Slade began, "But you've given me _far_ too much trouble for that now…"

"Don't need it anyway!" Robin exclaimed as he grabbed the mercenary's shoulders, hoisting himself into the air and somersaulting as far away from him as he could.

With a grin so big it threatened to swallow his entire face, Dick Grayson could only say, "I win."

Suddenly Slade noticed beeping—and looked down to see a dick of explosives attached to his _very full_ ammo-belt! Was there time to get it off?! The mercenary moved at top speed but in the end, not even his best effort was good enough!

Robin's explosives ignited, taking the ammunition with it and swallowing Deathstroke in the fiery explosion. Pavement cracked, and finally Dick's fight was won.

_Robin: "Damn…Never in a million years did I think I was _that_ good…"_

However, as the smoke cleared, the Teen Titan was beyond shocked to see Slade still standing!

"But…but how?!"

"I'm at peak human potential," growled Slade. "I can't be taken down that easily…"

Snarling, Robin charged forward, but he was simply backhanded away by Deathstroke. Before he could even recover the mercenary tossed a grenade—Robin barely managed to tuck into a ball before the explosive sent him rolling backwards.

Meanwhile, Slade used the explosion to take to the air, leaping off some debris and landing straight on Dick Grayson's stomach. Out of the side of his one eye he noticed one of his long-disarmed pistols and picked it up, aiming for the boy's head.

"This time I'm not going to let you get away," he resolved, his finger looming over the trigger.

_Robin: "Okay, déjà vu is pretty cool when, say, you meet a fine lady. But when it's _not_ cool is when a mercenary is standing over you ready to deliver a killing blow! Again!"_

Suddenly, though, a voice objected to the mercenary's actions over a speaker in his ear. Slade's eyebrow arched, and he pulled the device out, holding it between two fingers. "Then consider our contract over," he growled as he crushed Jupiter's radio. "I have the money anyway."

Turning his attention back to his captive, Deathstroke had become more callous than ever. "Now, where was I?"

Fortunately for Robin, just that second—as his gloved finger straddled the trigger—a maelstrom of yellow blew past, shattering a fist of compressed Speed Force energy across the mercenary's face.

_Speed: "Looks like I was right. Eh, there's no fun in winning an obvious bet."_

"I guess you're done here," growled Wally as energy fluctuated from his shattered arm, _adding_ speed to Deathstroke's flight. "Get out of my sight."

Slade Wilson would have kept flying for quite a time, too, if he hadn't been stopped dead in his tracks by a pin-point Starbolt. For the second time in less than two minutes he'd been caught in an explosion—it remained to be seen if he could truly be downed this time.

"Dick, are you okay?" Dick Grayson suddenly felt himself being roused by cold mechanical hands—and awoke to see Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven looming above him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," replied Robin groggily.

_Robin: "I just…lost. That's all…"_

"That was AWESOME!" exclaimed Gar, jumping around his teammate. "Nobody's _ever_ survived one-on-one combat with Deathstroke before! Do you know how _cool_ you are?!"

"Eh," grunted Dick. "I should've won."

_Beast Boy: "Great, just what we need around here, somebody else feeling bad about themselves. C'mon, snap out of it! That was incredible!"_

"DICK!" Out of nowhere Robin had a Tamaranian latched to his back. "I am so pleased that you survived!"

"Well, I'm happy you're happy," gasped the teen. "Now can you please stop crushing my lungs?!"

Starfire blushed as she released her death grip. "I am sorry. I was just relieved that you did so well!"

Robin gnashed his teeth. "I didn't do that well. Would everybody stop?"

"But you did do well," said Donna Troy as she floated by the edge of the crater Kory's attack created, lasso in hand. "Nobody even expected you to, but you did. Good job, Robin."

_Robin: "Woah. Just…woah."_

_Beast Boy: "Wait a minute, was that a compliment? From Donna? I'm so jealous!"_

_Raven: "Robin should be extremely flattered. I can sense that she is entirely sincere."_

As the smoke cleared, Slade could be seen, battered, bruised, and in a word—broken. His mask had shattered, revealing the wrinkled face and white hair and beard of a man in his mid-to-late fifties. He wanted to resist, he wanted to keep fighting, but his body just had nothing else to give. For the first time ever, he'd been _defeated._ Worse than that, he'd been _unmasked._ On _television._

"Don't try anything," threatened Wonder Girl as she wrapped her lasso around the mercenary, "Or you'll get more voltage than any scale in this world can measure."

Slade was too tired to reply, but he certainly wasn't planning on it. At least—not yet. His fist clenched as he thought about the hit his reputation just took. Maybe he didn't have the strength now, but someday—he _would_ do something about it.

"Well now," said a new voice from above the Teen Titans, "I guess we didn't need to come after all. Deathstroke's all taken care of! Well done, Wonder Chick!"

Donna gasped. She only let one person call her that!

"K—Kyle?!" Suddenly Donna Troy was in the arms of a dark haired man in his early twenties—and barely at that. He was clad in a white, black and green uniform, an odd oblong emblem on the upper left side of his chest. A green mask hid half of his face, and a green ring adorned his finger, emitting a powerful aura across his entire body.

This was Wonder Girl's boyfriend—Kyle Rayner, a Green Lantern, one of the most powerful beings on the planet!

"Wait a second," gasped Gar Logan, scratching his head. "_That's_ Kyle?! Your boyfriend's a freakin' _Green Lantern?!_"

Donna blushed. "Did I…forget to mention that?"

Of course, a female voice quickly stole their attention. "But what Kyle says is true, sister. You all did an excellent job."

The Teen Titans turned in amazement at the group they now saw standing before them. The array of cloaks, red spandex, halter-tops, wings, fishnets and even leather jackets that confronted them may have seemed strange at first—but their wearers were some of their _idols_! Indeed, they were heroes the whole world looked up to!

_Cyborg: "I can't believe it…it's like a dream come true!"_

"Is that…" gasped Dick, barely able to finish his sentence.

"You bet," smiled Victor Stone. "It's the Justice League!"

_Speed: "Well, it's about freaking time!"_

Next Time: Guest-Starring the Justice League of America!

OOC: Well, looks like next chapter's a big one! Don't miss it! And all you Slade fans, don't worry…he's the Titans greatest enemy! He'll be back—with a vengeance!


	5. Guest Starring the Justice League!

OOC: I'm sorry about the huge wait between chapters guys—and also about the huge size of this chapter! I had a ton to cram into this and less time to do it in, so consider this your extra special chapter 5 super-blowout-extravaganza. As for the Justice League line-up…all of you saying "Why isn't _he_ there!"…he'll be here eventually. It may be a dozen chapters from now, but I promise it's coming. Read a bit and you'll know who. Thanks for reading guys, and please leave me a comment to let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. I claim no credit for these characters nor the Justice League, whose characters have been handled by dozens and dozens of talented writers. My hats off to you, good sirs and ma'ams.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Episode 5: Guest-Starring the Justice League of America!**

**ROLE CALL: **

**THE TEEN TITANS—Teenage heroes and reality-TV stars: **

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

**THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA—Elite task force of Earth's mightiest heroes:**

**Batman—**Bruce Wayne: Orphaned millionaire turned dark, brooding vigilante.

**Wonder Woman—**Diana of Themyscara: Princess and ambassador of the Amazons, blessed with the powers of the Greek Gods.

**The Flash—**Barry Allen: The fastest man alive.

**Green Lantern**—Kyle Rayner: Artist bestowed with a ring capable of forming objects from pure energy.

**Animal Man—**Buddy Baker: "Cosmically aware" family man capable of siphoning animal abilities.

**Zatanna—**Zatanna Zatara: Magician whose spells can cause anything to happen—as long as she says them backwards.

**Hawkgirl—**Shayera Hol: Tough-as-nails winged alien cop.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

**ON THE AIR—SAN FRANSCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA**

Super heroes aren't anything new—indeed, the first 'mystery men', as they were then called, arrived on the scene way back during the dawn of World War II. President Roosevelt organized these proud powered volunteers into several teams, such as the Justice Society of America and the All-Star Squadron, in order to fight the war abroad and protect those left here at home.

However, after the conflict, the teams eventually drifted apart. As decades passed many superheroes became reclusive vigilantes, and the public lost sight of their great achievements of yesteryear. Even the impact of the benevolent Superman, who took the nation by storm, was tempered by the appearances of a frightening Batman and the selfish Booster Gold—heroes the public could hardly get behind.

Would it take another world war to recapture the public's hearts? No—but it _would_ take a near-war _between _worlds.

A Martian invasion brought together seven heroes to form what would perhaps become the greatest superhero group of all time: The Justice League of America. From there it grew, one hero at a time, until the present where it has encompassed nearly all the costumed heroes in the world.

It has truly become an "Unlimited" Justice League. And now a seven member field team stood at the scene of a disaster—but they were not the ones who saved the day. They were not the ones who rescued the citizens or defeated the bad guy. Instead, they'd been beaten to the punch by a new team recruited, not by an urgent catastrophe, but by an agent and a TV network.

However, despite the less than selfless premise their team had been founded on, the infamous mercenary known as Deathstroke lay defeated at the feet of the Teen Titans. (Of course, let's ignore the fact that he was hired to make them look good by the show's director, as the teens don't know—it's a story for another time.) To even the great Justice League, this was impressive.

"Well done, Donna," smiled Wonder Woman, proud of what her 'sister' and her team had accomplished. "And all of you, as well. You fought valiantly."

_Beast Boy: "I think…my heart…is going to burst out my chest."_

Indeed, young Garfield had reason to be awe-struck. Diana, princess of the Amazons, was considered the epitome of all beauty, grace, and poise. Barely a man could lay eyes on her and _not_ fall in love. Of course, her revealing red corset—emblazoned with a golden, stylized 'w' pattern and a golden belt—and blue and white starred panties gave them every reason to. Like her sister she had metallic bracelets and a glowing magic lasso, and a golden tiara held back her luscious black hair.

_Wonder Girl: "It feels so good to get a compliment from Diana. She's the one who saved me as a baby when I was abandoned in a burning building, the one who brought me back to Themyscara and insisted I was raised as an Amazon. I owe my life to her, and I've grown up just being amazed at what a great hero she is._

_"I'd give anything to be half as good as she is. To be that _perfect._"_

Of course, if Donna Troy felt incompetent next to her sister, her boyfriend would certainly make sure she didn't. "Yeah Wonder Chick, way to go!" exclaimed Kyle Rayner, one of the elite space-cops known as the Green Lanterns. One of the youngest members of both the GL Corps and the League, Kyle had only had his ring for a couple of years, but had already proved himself more than worthy of the nearly omnipotent weapon. "I guess your team isn't as incompetent as you said!"

_Speed: "Why am I not surprised?"_

_Cyborg: "Okay, Devil's Advocate here, but I'm sure she doesn't feel that way now after what we just did._

_"And yo, wait a minute! I'm getting to meet the Justice League—but the biggest hero of all ain't here!"_

"Sorry to interrupt here," began Victor Stone, "but where's Superman?!"

"He's on a mission in space," replied a deep, gravely voice coming from a man in a black cowl and cape. His cape covered much of his body like a cloak, though a yellow belt could slightly be seen beneath it, and two pointy ears were perched atop his cowl. He was the Batman, protector of Gotham City. "He, Martian Manhunter and Adam Strange are evacuating a planet that's about to explode.

"Besides," continued the vigilante as he turned towards Slade, "Deathstroke may be good, but we hardly would have needed Superman to defeat him."

_Robin: "See, Batman is the guy who paved the way for people like me. He's the guy with no powers who can walk among Gods and instantly command their respect, and even _fear_. Powers? He doesn't need them. And neither do I. We've got more. Just plain skill, baby!_

_"Of course, I'm not going to be a jerk hiding in the shadows like him. That's just not my style."_

"What about Green Arrow?" asked Donna. "He's got the biggest _mad-on_ for Deathstroke I've ever seen! You'd think he'd want to be here!"

Without even moving his gaze from the captured mercenary Batman replied, "That's exactly why he's _not_ here. He'd only get in the way."

_Raven: "He is so calculating. I feel little concern from him for anything other than his mission. Yet, deep within, I can feel horrific levels of trauma and pain. It is like he had been holding back his emotions, as if he no longer wishes to feel._

_"I can relate."_

Suddenly Kyle popped up from behind Batman, grinning from ear-to-ear. "'Course, he forgot to mention he sent GA on a mission with Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, just for giggles."

Donna Troy burst out laughing, knowing the chaos those two could cause together. From above, a voice agreed with the young Titan. "Better him than me," laughed Hawkgirl, floating to the ground with the rest of her team. In her hand was a mace she gripped like her life depended on it—gigantic wings spread from the girl's back. Her clothing had alternating yellow, green and black, and she wore a mask that hid her beautiful features under the fearsome façade of a hawk. Her red hair spilled out the back and past her shoulders. "Last time I worked with those two they spent more time hitting on me than fighting bad guys!"

Even if the two absent leaguers in question didn't enjoy it, hitting punks was just what Hawkgirl loved to do more than anything else—just something carried over from her years as a cop on the distant planet Thanagar. Starfire gasped excitedly at the sight of the fellow alien.

_Starfire: "She is from Thanagar! My home world of Tamaran is actually quite close to theirs, and I've worked with several Thanagarians before! Oh, what a pleasure it is to finally find something familiar on this world!"_

"Oh, give them a break Hawkgirl," added a fifth member in reply to the alien. "Besides, it's rude to talk about them behind their back." This Justice Leaguer was Zatanna, the resident magician. Dressed in fishnets, a tuxedo and top hat she certainly looked the part—and stunned most men.

_Wonder Girl: "Besides Diana and Kyle, Zatanna is my favorite Leaguer. I just think she has one of the better balances in her life—some barely have one outside being a hero! When she's not fighting with the League, she's performing top-selling magic shows all over the world! 'Course, don't get me wrong, she's one of the most altruistic people I know! She never lets it distract her from her work, and much of her money goes to charity._

_"Honestly, it inspired a lot of my work. I decided to use my powers to crusade for abandoned children, like I once was, and any money or publicity I earned I gave right back to them. My work was why I never joined the League—the Titans, though, was supposed to be for _myself_. A smaller group where I'd have access to the resources to finally track down my _own_ parents. And, of course, you all see how that's worked out so far…or how it _hasn't_, I should say."_

"Zatanna's right," growled the Batman as his JLA communicator buzzed in his ear. "More important matters to deal with. Oracle just managed to find files on Deathstroke's identity after I sent her the visuals of his face.

"His name is Slade Wilson. He was a career soldier starting in the Vietnam War, who eventually volunteered himself for an experimental project to heighten his senses. It was thought a failure, and he was discharged after he disobeyed orders and rescued a fellow soldier from a suicide mission.

"Soon he came to have a family: a wife, son and daughter. However, while they were young Slade and his wife divorced—around the same time Slade lost one of his eyes. In hindsight, _both_ are likely connected to the beginning of his career as Deathstroke—his abilities must have stabilized. Regardless, several months after the divorce, his wife was found dead in her home, and the children missing. Her killer was never found. Around the same time, Deathstroke was rumored to be seen with two young apprentices."

Batman's eyes narrowed into slits, his teeth clenching as his voice dropped to an even lower pitch. "Again, in hindsight, the connections are obvious. We should have plenty to charge him with."

Slade, though, simply laughed—his smug arrogance still going strong even as he was wrapped tight in a magic lasso. "Doubtful. If I even make it to trail, I'll never be convicted. You're all wasting your time."

"You're a monster!" cried another Leaguer. He wore full body tights, the leggings orange and the tunic blue, with an orange "A" spreading vertically up his chest. A blue cowl covered the sides of his head and goggles his eyes, but his blonde hair stuck out the top. Over it all was a denim jacket, just so he'd have some place to store the car keys and the grocery list. He was Animal Man—a friend to all animals, able to borrow their powers. "How could you do that to your family?"

_Beast Boy: "Hey, I know that guy! We met at some animals' rights convention when I was still on the Doom Patrol! Animal Man—Buddy Baker! Pretty cool guy, he even had his wife and kids with him! Come to think of it, I'd heard he talks about animal rights more than he superheroes—and he's always doing it with his family! …Dude, with what Deathstroke did to _his_ family no wonder he's so pissed!"_

"It was easy," said Slade with a slight smile. "She couldn't handle my double life. She left me, she tried to _kill_ me—I merely returned the favor."

Tears welled in Animal Man's eyes as he moved to take action—but someone else was one step ahead of him. The rope tied around him tightened as Wonder Girl took to the air, the other end held firmly in her grip. "Buddy's right—you're the worst _kind_ of monster."

Electricity—lightning from Zeus himself—exploded from the lasso, knocking the already battered Deathstroke unconscious almost instantly. Despite this, she kept going, the lasso fueled by her rage. Suddenly a streak of red knocked the Wonder Girl away from her weapon—as the streak skidded to a stop, it revealed itself to be a man dressed in a crimson uniform with lightning flashing across it: he was the Flash, the fastest man alive!

"What're you doing, Donna?" asked the Flash—secretly Barry Allen, police chemist for the Keystone City Police Force. Donna Troy just growled—still lost in her own anger, as she so often was.

"He deserved it."

"Doesn't matter," interjected Flash. "We don't get to even treat _criminals _like that."

Suddenly another streak—this one yellow—zoomed between the two. "That's your problem—you've always cared more about the bad guys then your friends!"

Barry Allen's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "Wally?!"

"Yeah," growled Speed—he nearly spat the words. "Y'know, it's about time you showed up. I was about to think you were going to be too big a coward to come around here!"

_Cyborg: "What's his problem?! Even if it's embarrassing I can understand Donna, but Wally's just being a jerk! And to the Flash—I mean, _everybody_ loves the Flash! He's gotta whole freaking museum devoted to him even!"_

The Flash was taken aback, clearly pained by the accusation of the younger speedster. "Why would I be scared to come?"

"Because of me!" screamed Wally, electricity flaring around him. "Because I'm _your_ fault and you haven't even _tried_ to fix it!"

Barry took a step backwards, trying to comprehend the boy's anger. Growling slightly, Batman reached for his belt, only to find himself being held back by Wonder Woman. The wise Amazon shook her head 'no', hoping perhaps it could be worked out with words, that this could all be resolved without resorting to violence. Yet, her other hand was clenched into a fist—as her time in man's world had taught her, this could rarely be achieved, sadly.

Before the Flash could even defend himself, Speed continued, starting with a broad sweeping gesture towards his teammates. "You wanted to know why I even bothered to join his team? Well, _this_ is it! The only reason I even freaking showed up was for this! To confront the Flash on TV and show the world what a jerk he really is!"

_Robin: "Wow, and here I just thought my magnetic personality kept him around."_

_Raven: "Speed is always angry, but normally his anger is laced with traces of doubt, pity and hopelessness. Today, all I can sense is hate. His hatred is so deep and potent that it consumes his mind completely. At this moment there is nothing else to him."_

_Beast Boy: "Well, looks like it's 'secret origins' time!"_

"Just a few months ago I was visiting my aunt in Keystone City and she introduced me to her fiancée. He was some boring guy, a scientist working for the police, but apparently he worked with the protector of Keystone—the Flash—sometimes. I didn't believe him, but the next day he introduced me to Flash—yes, the same Flash standing with you all right here!

"He showed me how he got his powers by lightning striking a rack of chemicals, and before he could even finish his freakin' _sentence_, lightning shot through the window and hit my future uncle's chemicals. They were headin' right for me, but I couldn't do anything, I was just too slow. Hell, I barely realized it was happening—but the Flash, hell, he's the fastest man alive, haven't ya' heard?

"Running in he tried to push me out of the way of the chemicals—"

Wally West was interrupted by a gasp from the Flash himself. "Is _that_ what his is all about? Do you think I was trying to stop you from getting superpowers or something? Wally, those weren't the same chemicals! Who _knows_ what they could have done!"

Energy forming the speed specter's mouth gnashed as Speed continued his story. "I couldn't have given a s--- about being some hero. I just wish you'd had been _faster_! Hey America, the guy who's so fast he can outrun time itself couldn't push me out of the path of lighting in time—"

"I _could've_—" again interjected Barry, "but if I'd have moved any faster I would've broken your _spine!_"

The Titan was undeterred. "So his push, the chemicals and the bolt of lightning hit me all at once—and next thing I know, I'm just freaking floating somewhere, in some blinding field. I couldn't feel, see, hear, _anything_. It took me over a week to figure out how to control the energy—my _new body._

"My old body was nowhere to be found—I've been stuck like this ever since! It's your fault, Flash!"

"Wally," replied the Flash, in a half whisper, tears welling in his blue eyes, "even heroes make mistakes sometimes. You have _no idea_ how bad I feel about it…"

The ground around Speed cracked as lightning flew. "Then DO something about it!" The teen's 'body' was nearly breaking apart from the pressure it was exerting. "I'm just some kid who hasn't even finished high school thanks to you, but _you_ know scientists! You work in the Justice League, with my uncle, with STAR Labs even! Fix me!"

_Speed: "That's all I want! All I freaking care about is getting fixed already! Why else would I even be wasting my time here?!"_

"I _have_ been working on it," The Flash replied. "But the Speed Force is complicated, Wally! I barely made it out with my life, and I can't remember any of it! Max Mercury is the only other person who's even come close to entering it—we've been working as much as we can, but with all I have to do to protect Keystone and my JLA duties—"

"Don't tell me you don't have TIME!" Something inside of Wally West snapped—he was tired of trying to reason! His fist of compressed energy tore into the Flash's face, sending the scarlet speedster flying. Speed followed, and the two span into a dazzling whirlwind of red and yellow streaks.

_Speed: "I've said all I have to say! If Flash won't help me after I call him out on _national television_, then I've got nothing else to do but punch his face in! I'm sick of seeing it!"_

Vindicated by the Titan's actions, Batman brushed away his teammate's hand—Wonder Woman didn't object, knowing it was time to break this up before it got any worse. "League, defuse this!"

"Already on it!" exclaimed Hawkgirl as she swooped down from above, spiraling several times as she flapped her massive wings. Lightning sparked form the barbs of her mace, and a smile grew across her face. "I've been waiting for this ever since the beginning of his stupid little spee—"

The Thanagarian couldn't even finish her sentence before she was sent sprawling through the sky by a powerful beam of green energy. More of the energy surged in Koriand'r's hand as she again took aim, not even trying to hide her action.

_Starfire: "The thought that I had just attacked a member of the Justice League had never even crossed my mind—of course, at the time I did not even know who they even were, actually. Still, had I, there would have been no difference. I believe you should act on your instinct—in the time it takes to ask questions, it could already be too late to prevent catastrophe!"_

"Do not lay a finger on my friends!" exclaimed the Tamaranian. "This is a matter Wally and the Flash must settle between the two of them!"

Flipping in mid-air and stopping her flight by opening her feathery appendages to their full wing-span, Shayera Hol just growled as she wiped blood from her cheek. "What would you know? Your people haven't been able to settle your war with the Gordanians, and that's been going on for centuries!"

"I could say the same of your people!" exclaimed Starfire as she exploded forward, her fists—immersed within Starbolts—meeting with Hawkgirl's mace and sending energy crackling through the air like a lightning storm.

Burying her face in the palms of her hands, Wonder Girl could do nothing but sigh at the actions of not just her team, but herself. "Why am I not surprised this happened?" she sobbed.

_Wonder Girl: "Really, I mean, should anything surprise me anymore?"_

"Now this sounds more like the team you told me about," said Kyle, placing a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "Y'know, you don't have to stay here. I mean, with the Justice League pressing down on them I'm sure MTV would let you off your contract."

_Wonder Girl: "As good as that sounds, I just really don't know. I decided to lead this team, and joining was all my idea—do I really want to give up so early? Well…yes, I do, okay—let me rephrase that. Can I really let myself give up in front of Diana and Kyle?!"_

Much to the young Amazon's delight, though, the decision was taken out of her hands as Cyborg slapped aside the Green Lantern.

"Yo, what's your problem?" Kyle asked irately as his ring created a tiny green brush that swept the dust off his costume. Cyborg didn't have an answer—he just glared at the Justice Leaguer as several parts of his half-mechanical body folded back, readying weapons.

_Cyborg: "I know what I was feeling—we were _all_ tired of being looked down on. Even if some of us deserved it, Donna's constant self-righteousness had reached a breaking point. I just wished it hadn't happened with the Justice League was there, but I guess there was no helping it."_

"My problem is that everybody keeps putting us down!" exclaimed Victor Stone. "The Justice League has been my heroes all my life, but all I've seen so far are self-righteous hypocrites! We saved lives here today! Y'know, Speed acted totally outta' line, but that's not our fault! Not even MTV's screening could have stopped that!"

Kyle Rayner just snickered. "Please, your little kid's table team can barely hold themselves together!"

And with that statement the young space-cop found himself being blasted across the already battered city street by a powerful laser exploding from the half-robot's chest.

"Punk," Cyborg growled. "You're like, what, a year older than me? Shove it."

"Oh, you're going to regret that," vowed the seething Green Lantern as his ring sparked to life, sweeping the Titan into the air in a bull-dozer shaped construct—and Kyle was right behind him, a tail of emerald power trailing after the boy.

"Kyle!" exclaimed Wonder Girl as she tried to take after her boyfriend—but a gray-covered arm emerging from a dark cloak suddenly held her back.

Batman squinted, his voice coming out closer to an animal's growl than a human voice. He wasn't known for his patience, and this tested what little the Dark Knight had. "You've done enough Wonder Girl," chastised the vigilante as he signaled to his side. "Zatanna! Restrain them!"

The beautiful magician smiled and tapped the side of her top-hat, letting it fall to a slight tilt. "Got it, Batsy!" she replied in a cheerful tone as she held her hand in the air—multi-colored sparks began to fly as she recited her backwards request.

"Ezeerf eht neet snatit dna eht ecitsuj eug—" However, like her teammates', Zatanna's efforts were in vain as she was cut off—mid spell—by a public mailbox hitting her in the side, sending the slim showgirl soaring. The black halo surrounding the mailbox disappeared, letting it fall to the ground unceremoniously.

The remaining heroes turned to Raven. "What did you do _that_ for?!" Donna asked, it coming out almost as a whine as she fought back tears.

"I…do not know…" replied the empath, her voice wavering and distant.

_Raven: "I do not know what I was thinking. I could only feel that we were all being consumed by our unusual anger. It had begun to devour our thoughts, much like it had Speed, yet he did not have the power to do that to us…"_

"…Laeh…em…" gasped Zatanna as her powers, following her request, fused together broken bones and sealed the scrapes and bruises Raven's attack had left. Then her eyebrows arched as her own anger peaked, and accompanied by a puff of smoke a magic wand appeared in her hand. "Gninthgil paz Nevar!" she commanded as a bolt of electricity shot from the end of her wand.

Without wasting a second Raven disappeared into the darkness, leaving her opponent's projectile to attack nothing but air as a bird-shaped blast of black enveloped Zatanna—in an instant both heroes had disappeared.

Batman's eyes shot open wide like saucers. "Teleportation!"

"Donna," began Wonder Woman, trying to keep her regal demeanor in midst of the chaos, "They're your team and you know them better than we do—what do you suggest we do to break this up?"

Donna Troy only mumbled under her breath, prompting her sister to continue. "Sister, this should not be that difficult…" Wonder Girl's lip quivered as her hands balled into fists.

_Wonder Girl: "I…love my sister, I really do. Even on the occasions when she may get a little sanctimonious I know she means well. It' s never bothered me before. But just with everything going on…Hera forgive me, but I couldn't help myself."_

Without warning—though considering the day so far it should have surprised no one—Wonder Girl charged into the air, both her fists colliding with Diana's stomach. Before the elder Amazon could react her sister span into a roundhouse kick that sent her flying.

"I'm sorry I'm not as good as you then!" yelled Donna in response to Wonder Woman's suggestions. As the two warriors from Themyscara traded blows, only four heroes had yet to fight.

Beast Boy stared into the sky, whistling at the sight. "What a cat fight," he said with a smile as he looked towards Animal Man. "But I guess you're not allowed to watch that stuff, right?"

"Yeah," smiled Buddy Baker, "My wife definitely wouldn't appreciate it." Suddenly—in fact, in a literal second—his face became twisted in rage as he span into a hook that sent Gar twirling like a top.

The green boy wiped blood away from his busted lip as he asked indignantly, "Hey! What was that for?"

"I…I don't know," stuttered Animal Man as he leapt forward, spreading his arms and flying straight for the tiny Titan. "I…I think the author just wants us to fight!"

"What?!" Gar's eyes nearly bugged out of his head, but Buddy's assault left little time to ponder the Justice Leaguer's meta-textual musings. Beast Boy shrank until he was a frog leaping far above Animal Man.

_Beast Boy: "Great, everybody else gets to fight big powerful heroes and I'm assaulted by Count Cuckoo!"_

Robin had been watching in shock as one-by-one his teammates and the Justice League started fighting, and now he was the only one left. He took a hesitant glance over his shoulder, spying the Batman examining the battles closely. However, the vigilante quickly turned his attention to the acrobat, locking eye contact.

"What?"

Taking a step back hesitantly, Dick stammered, "Well, what are we going to do to stop this?"

"You _want_ to stop it?" The dark knight's glare forced Robin back yet another step. "You're going to be the only one not to take on a member of the Justice League? You know that won't go over too well with your 'fans.'"

_Robin: "Eh, he's just jealous 'cause I _have_ fans. He should try getting a life outside'a fighting crime and maybe he'd realize the potential this biz' has to make us famous!"_

"The Hell?" Now Dick Grayson's anger was staring to well up, and he made up his lost ground, moving closer to his counterpart. "Are you _trying_ to goad me on or something?"

"Maybe you just _want_ me to be goading you on so you have an excuse to fight me," suggested the Batman, his expression not revealing his true motivations in the slightest. "That way you wouldn't look bad for throwing the first punch."

_Robin: "Damn him and his stupid unreadable face. Should be off playing poker and leaving me alone!"_

"Listen!" Robin inserted in frustration. "This doesn't make any sense!"

"Scared?"

This gave Dick a good laugh. "Please. I took on Deathstroke alone. Why would I be—"

Again Gotham's protector didn't even let the boy finish his sentence. "You and Slade played with toys. He may be physically stronger than both of us but he's trained to kill efficiently, not for drawing things out hand to hand." Batman whipped open his cloak and reached for his utility belt—Robin prepared to retaliate until he noticed that his opponent had simply pressed the buckle, and let the belt fall to the ground.

The caped crusader's eyes narrowed into barely visible strips of white. "I hear you're quite talented. That you can learn anything put in front of you. What a waste of potential that makes you."

"Jackass." With a tiny clicking noise Robin's utility belt fell to the ground, but its owner was already high in the air. "I'm better than anybody thinks!"

**WONDER GIRL VS. WONDER WOMAN**

Two streaks of red, blue and gold shot through the sky as Donna Troy—the Titan known as Wonder Girl—attempted to pummel her mentor mercilessly. The elder Amazon, Wonder Woman—the princess and ambassador of the mythical island of Themyscara—was making her sister's task quite difficult.

Anger poured from the younger Amazon like sweat as she hurled punches and kicks—pardon the cliché—faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive. However, each found itself being countered, deflected, or downright evaded by the skillful Justice Leaguer.

_Wonder Girl: "In the heat of the moment, all I could think about was connecting with a hit, but really, I shouldn't have been surprised. As strong as I am, as fast as I am, my sister will always have a slight edge on that power. And really, that's not even counting the millennia she's spent training on Themyscara compared to my…seventeen."_

"Donna, please!" pleaded Wonder Woman as she slapped aside a right straight. "I don't know what has come over all of us but we must stop fighting!"

"I—" Wonder Girl managed to stop for a brief second before connecting with a high kick to her sister's chin. "I can't! I'm sorry I don't have your perfect control!"

As the princess reeled her attacker had already caught up, ready for another assault. "I'm sorry I can't be all calm and cold and collected every second!"

Unfortunately for the Teen Titan, Wonder Woman wasn't one to stay down long. Donna's fist was blocked by the elder Amazon's metal bracelet, and she was sent reeling from the backlash of her own punch.

_Wonder Girl: "Great Zeus, that hurt!"_

Still, the pain only added fuel to Wonder Girl's fire. She was barely visible as she zoomed forward, deciding to add her own bracelets to the melee as the sound of clanking metal filled the sky.

A few tears fell as Donna's teeth gnashed and she span into a punch sure to be the money-maker. "I'm sorry I'm not some perfect girl made out of clay like you!"

Donna Troy's fist only met with the two crossed bracelets of Wonder Woman—as the mighty princess threw both arms backwards the younger girl was sent flying.

"The only thing you need to apologize for is your behavior now!" exclaimed Diana. "I don't know who has been telling you that you're inferior to me, but it certainly hasn't been me! Donna, I love you the way you are!"

Suddenly the mighty Amazon's eyebrows narrowed. "And I know that this certainly isn't you in control!" Diana pulled her magic lasso from her belt, and suddenly everything made sense. Truth was restored to the princess's mind, and it only confirmed what she had suspected all along—_nobody_ here was acting in their right mind.

However, Donna saw this action in a different light.

_Wonder Girl: "My lasso is a powerful weapon, but Diana's…it's _amazing._ Made from a chunk of Gaia's girdle, it's unbreakable, as long as it needs to be and almost unstoppable. It's not just a lie detector folks—it was able to even uncloud the manipulated mind of the mad war god Ares!_

_"And as soon as I saw Diana grab it I knew I was doomed—because I reached for mine and realized it was still tied around Deathsroke!"_

"No!" cried Wonder Girl as she took off at top-speed, wind burning her eyes as she strained to reach the bounded mercenary before her sister could catch her. Of course, this was futile, as Wonder Woman was already right on her tail, her lasso weaving around her in serpentine patterns.

Knowing words were no longer of use, Diana of Themyscara simply threw her rope—and with the skills she honed in her thousands of years of existence caught the younger Amazon like a hog at a rodeo. Donna Troy hung just a few feet above the ground, in shock. She knew she should have been angry, but if anything she was simply amazed at how much clearer everything was!

"What…" stammered Wonder Girl as her sister loosened her golden weapon, "What happened?"

"Mind control," growled Wonder Woman. "Something or somebody has manipulated all of us into attacking each other. My lasso seems to be able to break through its fog and reveal the truth, though."

"Oh," replied Donna, amazed. "Diana…I'm so sorr—"

Diana waved her hand and wouldn't even let the younger Amazon reply. "Please, sister. It wasn't your fault—enough apologies for today."

_Wonder Girl: "So yeah…like I said, I love my sister, but even under mind control she's _perfect._ Me? I'm just…trying."_

"So," asked the Justice Leaguer, "who should we stop first?"

Speed and Raven were the first names that jumped to the Titan's mind, but both of them were going to take quite some effort. Suddenly, an explosion of energy above the two Amazons made up their mind for them.

"Them!" exclaimed Donna. "'Cause, believe me, even without mind control they'd keep fighting until they killed each other!"

**STARFIRE VS. HAWKGIRL**

Explosions rocked the sky as sparks of lightning and green energy barely left room for the two combatants to maneuver—fortunately, both Koriand'r of Tamaran and Shayera Hol of Thanagar were proficient at flying and barely noticed the aftereffects of their attacks. Indeed, the alien warriors were far more focused on each other than any of the distractions.

This was the sort of stuff Hawkgirl lived for, and it was easy to imagine that she'd have reacted the same even when not under mind control. Thanagar had always been a fierce, warlike world, and the demeanor of its inhabitants reflected it. Tamaran, on the other hand, was a lush world that tried to maintain peace. Its armies were extremely effective and skilled—and god help anybody who stood in their way—but at the end of the day they still preferred love over war.

This gave Hawkgirl a slight edge in fighting—but whatever advantage this gained her was lost in range. As the Leaguer spiraled through attacks in a breathtaking display of acrobatics, all her opponent had to do was take aim. Faster than she could say 'Starbolt' the Thanagarian had been cut off by an emerald attack that she could barely hold back with her mace.

_Starfire: "Besides their love of battle, what Thanagarians are most famous for is creating something called 'N-th metal'. It is an astounding metal, light-weight yet very dense, resistant to magic and most other types of energy, able to generate its own attacks, and under certain occasions even lighter than air! Hawkgirl's N-th metal mace is certainly a fierce and dangerous weapon!"_

However, Kory had more pressing issues on her mind, and with her opponent held back by her attack it seemed the perfect time to address them. "How can you insult us over our war with the Gordanians when your people have been just as unsuccessful at defusing yours?!"

_Starfire: "The Thanagarians may enjoy fighting, but the Gordanians—they just enjoy _killing._ They are the most detestable race in the universe. Currently they are engaged in bloody wars with both my world and Hawkgirl's, as well as several more. We have fought to stand-stills, but as there is no negotiating with them, the wars just continue endlessly. It is truly a no win situation, and to look down on us for not being able to win against them is just…horrible!"_

"At least we've been trying to fight them with all our might!" Hawkgirl exclaimed, barely audible as she shouted to be heard over the sounds of their attacks. "Your people gave up and are trying to negotiate a truce with them! I've never _heard_ of such a cowardly move!"

"What?!" The news took Starfire by surprise. "But, how can this be? We would never do that!"

_Starfire: "Unless mother and father changed their opinions on the Gordanian war since I left…and I do not think they have!"_

"Of course you can!" Hawkgirl cried as she somersaulted, finally bashing the Starbolt beneath her. "After all, you did!"

With tremendous speed Hawkgirl zoomed forward, taking advantage of every precious second she could get free from enemy fire—which wasn't long, as Koriand'r quickly retaliated by launching a frenzied spree of tiny Starbolts that rattled off like machine gun fire.

However, Shayera matched the furious pace and deflected the shots with her mace, and before her Tamaranian opponent could even react she had a mace in her gut. Starfire was sent reeling from the assault, but she wasn't going to be caught off guard—she launched an attack of her own in her wake that devastated the bird-girl.

Both Starfire and Hawkgirl regained their bearings and didn't even pause for a breath as they lunged for each other, both lost within the endless anger they'd been manipulated into by some unseen force. Starbolts flew in all directions, and the Justice Leaguer had obviously grown tired of evading them.

The green rays battered the Thanagarian as she flew through the barrage face first, her deep guttural scream echoing as she wound up her mace. However, Koriand'r had already dodged below any assault—which instead left her victim to a kick in the face. Still, this wasn't without its weak spots for Hawkgirl too, as she discovered when Starfire grabbed her leg and pulled her close, connecting with a fierce uppercut to the chin.

Shayera Hol recovered from the strike with miraculous speed, but only spread her wings and continued her backwards flight even faster. It was a smart move, because a Starbolt was already hot on her tail. As a good distance finally opened between the two, Hawkgirl span several times and hurled her mace through Starfire's technique, deciding to let the Nth Metal do all the work. It tore through the energy attack and collided with the Titan, filling the sky with lightning.

Princess Koriand'r's vision blinked in and out as she fell to the ground, electricity still sparking up and down her curvy body. She could see her opponent above her, mace pulled far behind her head for one final assault—and she knew that no matter how it looked, Hawkgirl was right where she wanted her.

_Starfire: "My flight is obvious, and my Starbolts are always the first thing on the minds of my opponents. What they usually overlook, however, is my strength. With that comes endurance. Right now Hawkgirl cannot even consider that I'm not unconscious—and that shall be her downfall!"_

The Tamaranian bided her time, waiting until her hawk-like enemy was as close as possible—then thrusted her hand forward with a vicious scream. Green, shimmering energy exploded like soda from a shaken bottle, throwing Hawkgirl backwards like she'd been hit by a bullet train.

Somehow managing to crawl to her feet, a small smile crawled across Starfire's face, even if a small flare of static still crawled across her orange body every few seconds. However, apparently her opponent was just as resilient, and soon Shayera was on her feet as well.

"Finish this?" growled the Thanagarian.

"Gladly," replied the Tamaranian.

Dust exploded from behind both aliens as they charged for one final attack, but fortunately for both of them, they were intercepted by two streaks of red, gold and blue and a shining lasso—which left them hogtied together by their feet.

"Looks like we arrived just in time," said Wonder Woman with a smile.

Both aliens were reduced to just blinking at each other. "What just happened, and why do I not want to fight anymore?" asked Hawkgirl.

"Mind control," replied Donna as she loosed the lasso. "Something's manipulating all of us into attacking each other, and Diana's lasso is the only thing that can stop us."

"Oh," sighed Starfire as she rubbed her aching head. "Well Hawkgirl, I'm so—"

"No need to apologize," interjected the Thanagarian. Hanging her mace on her belt, she extended her slim arm. "Even if we were trying to kill each other, I really enjoyed it. We should spar sometime!"

_Starfire: "Now there is an intriguing offer! It really will help to keep me in shape, but more than anything else, I think I shall enjoy finally knowing somebody so closely connected to Tamaran!"_

"Indeed," smiled Koriand'r. "I am looking forward to it."

**CYBORG VS. GREEN LANTERN**

The green bull-dozer construct that had swept Victor Stone into the air morphed and changed, swallowing the Titan within a small green bubble still connected to the Lantern's ring.

"That'll keep you from causing any trouble," growled Kyle Rayner. "Stay put like a good little boy while I sweep up the others."

"Fat chance," retorted Cyborg as hatches in his shoulders popped open, filling the bubble with a blue hue. Green Lantern gritted his teeth as electrical backlash traveled back to his ring, but before he could even get rid of his construct Cyborg's energy shield broke through the bubble.

Kyle reeled backwards, and before Vic could even begin to fall he launched another shot from the energy cannon in his chest, sending the young space cop flying even further. Boosters in both the machine-man's feet slowed his fall, and he landed without a scratch.

His opponent returned only a second later, incensed as he floated nearly unharmed in an aura of emerald energy. His ring started to spark like a star.

_Cyborg: "Hm, a Green Lantern energy ring, able to create anything its user can think of, as long as the user's got the willpower to maintain it. Technically it's the most powerful weapon ever created. And this Rayner kid, he's an artist. I hear he's got more imagination than anyone on the League._

_"But if he thinks that means he's winnin' this, then he's gonna be pretty pissed—cause I've got a pretty damn good imagination myself. After all, when I was rebuilt I was just meant to keep my life support going. All my weapons and crime fighting gear—they're _my _design. I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeve."_

"Let's see how you handle this, cowboy," challenged Rayner. Smirking, he released at least a dozen charging green bulls and bison. Cyborg's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

_Cyborg: "Definitely not what I was expecting! Don't Lanterns usually attack with giant green fists and stuff?"_

Still, when one was fighting a Lantern, they had to be prepared for the unexpected, and here Vic was no exception. His shield leapt to life just long enough to let him ready the laser cannon in his chest, and as soon as he retracted his shield he unleashed a blast that decimated one of the cattle.

However, the machine man wasn't quite done yet. He looked to the ground, combining the tail end of his blast's momentum with the boosters in his feet to propel himself to the air. Then he let boosters in the backs of his elbows take over, and as his right arm slid back into his Sonic Cannon he propelled both appendages into the ground at amazing speeds—the concrete and dirt uprooted by the blast obliterated the stampede and barreled on towards the Green Lantern.

"Not bad," grinned Kyle as he formed a wall of green bricks, shielding himself. "But still not good enough, _kid_!" Each brick then separated and shot forward in the shape of missiles.

"Where'd you get your dialogue, the school of the cliché?" asked Victor Stone as his mind raced with the efficiency of a computer to find a workable evasive maneuver.

_Cyborg: "I hope under all that bravado he's as_ _scared as I am, cause I know I sure as hell don't mean the taunts I'm saying!"_

Knowing his shield couldn't take another hit of that level, the Titan attempted his earlier maneuver to leap over them—and was promptly swatted out of the sky by a green hand.

"Oh," mumbled Vic, "There's the giant green hand."

"Hey, they're corny as hell but they're tradition," Kyle replied with a laugh as the hand balled up into a fist and roared towards his opponent's half metal face. Scrambling to his feet as fast as he could, Cyborg span into a vicious right hook that obliterated Kyle's construct—and before the energy had even dissipated hatches popped open in the Titan's shoulder, unleashing a storm of blue and white missiles!

The Green Lantern's eyes shot open wide, but not in fear. "Now that looks fun!" he exclaimed; pointing his ring to the ground he unleashed a potent beam that grew and fluctuated into a miniature army fort beneath the Leaguer. "We have incoming missile threat," he said to himself. "Roger that!"

_Cyborg: "Okay, apparently he's a few power rings short of a jewelry store here."_

Hatches opened all over the fort construct in reply to Kyle's affirmation, unleashing blasts and missiles that completely annihilated Cyborg's assault in the blink of an eye.

_Cyborg: "Or he just has an over-active imagination. Then again, that's his rep, and if I wasn't prepared for that then I'd just be an idiot. See, I'dve just shot them down myself, but really, this time I _wanted_ the distraction."_

Smoke poured across the battlefield as Kyle let his construct fade, beaming as he looked out at the chaos, no doubt quite proud of himself. Suddenly Vic's entire forearm burst out from inside the smoke, propelled by rockets and still attached to the metal man by a steel wire.

The Lantern weaved to the side, evading the punch outright, but the Titan's arm just followed suit and in seconds had wrapped itself around Kyle several times, ensnaring him like a boa constrictor would its prey. With a mighty scream Victor grabbed the rope and pulled with all his might.

"No you don't!" Kyle declared, using his own aura to fly further back. The two were locked in a stalemate—however, unlike the Green Lantern, Cyborg didn't need all his willpower and concentration to keep things even, and this gave him the advantage. His other forearm disconnected itself as well, and soared into Kyle Rayner's face with enough force to dent steel.

Fortunately for the Leaguer, he was protected by his ring's aura—but he was still badly stunned, and as the teen rolled across the ground, Victor Stone's arm was already reconnecting with his body and folding back into his Sonic Cannon.

Floating onto his feet, Kyle was already only moments away from being bombarded by the sound waves as he regained his bearings—but it was just enough time to erect a shield. "Nice try, but—"

Suddenly the Lantern was on his knees, hands clamped tightly over his ears.

Cyborg shook his head sadly. "People _always_ underestimate the Sonic Cannon." Of course, if the Titan made one mistake the entire battle, it was revealing the true nature of his weapon. Kyle's ring lit up and green plugs appeared in his ears—and suddenly a giant green Amtrack train made of pure energy struck his opponent square in the stomach.

"That's it!" Kyle exclaimed, enraged. Before Vic had even landed he was ensnared in an emerald net, being pulled back towards the Lantern. Constructs in the shape of electric generators had already formed at his feet. "I'm ending this now!"

Vic grunted, and the blue portions of his body started to glow. "Then I guess I'll just have to too!"

As the two warriors collided, green electricity from Kyle's generators and real electricity from Cyborg's personal defense system both came to life, engulfing both heroes in sparking misery—and suddenly, almost as soon as it'd started, it was over. Victor Stone and Kyle Rayner had been tied together within a golden, magic lasso.

Wonder Girl smacked both playfully across their head. "Cut it out, guys," she laughed, knowing well enough that they couldn't help it. Then she looked lovingly towards her boyfriend. "And quit being a show-off, Kyle."

"Sorry, Wonder Chick," Kyle replied, flashing a perfect smile before more pressing questions issued in his head. "Wait a second, what just _happened_?"

"Mind control," interjected Cyborg before either Amazons could answer. "I could detect it with my bionic eye, but I was so engulfed in it during my battle that I didn't even notice it!"

_Cyborg: "Wait a second! That means I'm still human enough to be put under mind control! All right!"_

Suddenly Wonder Woman's soft hand was on the half-robot's shoulder. "Excellent work, Cyborg," complemented Diana.

"Yeah, but can you use that brain of yours to figure out a way to separate the speedsters over there?" Donna asked, frustrated as she pointed to Wally and the Flash.

"Sure," grunted Vic as he brought several diagnostic readings to life. "But it may take a sec. You should probably break the others up before that."

**BEAST BOY VS. ANIMAL MAN**

"All animals on Earth are connected by the morphogenetic field," explained Buddy Baker—the animal rights crusader, family man and superhero known as Animal Man. The blue and orange clad man flapped his arms slightly as he soared high into the air, fast on the heels of a green falcon. "Once, long ago, I was abducted by aliens. They experimented on me, tied me into this field—and that's how I can borrow the attributes of any animal by reaching through that field."

_Beast Boy: "So I can become any animal, but he can take their strengths and speed and apply them to his body. Heh, it's not nearly as fun man. You can't have a tail, or a trunk, or a really long neck, I mean, there's so much to experience that he can't. Sucks."_

Gar maneuvered himself directly above his opponent, and for a brief second shifted back to human form. "Don't bother, dude. I don't need to know how you got your powers!" Then he expanded into an elephant, letting himself fall atop Animal Man, bringing both crashing to the ground like the Titan was an anvil crushing a cartoon character.

Yet, Buddy Baker was somehow not as flat as a pancake. Beast Boy certainly was surprised to see it as he fell into the crater they had created upon impact. "Dude, how?"

"The closer the animals I borrow from are, the more potent the effects," Buddy began. "So, I dropped the flight to take the strength of your elephant and combine it with the durability of a cockroach." Suddenly he slumped backwards slightly. "Of course, taking the powers of two animals at once isn't fun…don't do it much."

The Justice Leaguer scratched his chin for a second before adding on one other thing. "As for explaining my powers, I'm not doing it for _you_. It's for the readers! They need exposition to know who I am and what I'm doing!"

Gar Logan just raised an eyebrow. "…What? Readers? You mean the viewers? This is a TV show, not a book man."

_Beast Boy: "And who reads books anymore?"_

Animal Man smiled slightly. "If you say so, little guy. But believe me, I've seen things beyond this realm of reality—beyond fiction, non-fiction or even reference—and you'd be surprised at what we _are_ and _aren't._" Suddenly he dashed forward, the rest of his words becoming hard to hear as he dropped his other abilities for the speed of a cheetah. "So believe me, I don't want to do this, but it doesn't seem I have much of a choice!"

Shrinking into the body of a chimpanzee, the Teen Titan easily flipped over the straight-forward charge of his opponent. However, Buddy quickly skidded to a stop and instead attacked with the cheetah's claws, to which Gar decided to counter by becoming a rhino—a hide that thick was claw-proof!

As Animal Man skidded to the side, his hands throbbing, Garfield Logan wanted to give it another shot. "I'm not buyin' it bro," he said, panting. "Something's definitely fishy here, but it's got nothin' to do with what you're talking about!"

Suddenly, in a blue and orange streak, Buddy had disappeared far into the air, having borrowed the abilities of a jumping spider. Beast Boy did a spit take as now he became a cheetah, dashing with all his might to escape what was coming next.

But even the fastest land animal alive couldn't outrun the pure force of Animal Man landing after a seventy feet fall with the density of a blue whale. Gar shrank into an armadillo and curled into a ball, rolling through the debris safely.

"Why's it so hard to believe, Gar?" asked the Leaguer. "You used to be a part of the Doom Patrol—the weird and unbelievable was your specialty! You met a living street but can't question the very world that could create that?"

Charging forward as a bison, Beast Boy chose to ignore the question.

_Beast Boy: "He's right—you guys wouldn't believe the freaky crap I've seen through my life. But, y'know, I always thought that they were the universe's little quirks, just to make it fun. We've got to have something more solid and reliable to back that up, right?"_

Just as the Titan's prey was within reach, he sent the green animal soaring with an upper-cut to the beast's chin—still backed by the power of a blue whale!

_Beast Boy: "Okay, so there's one advantage to the _not_ shapeshifting stuff. Still, I got a ton more over on 'im."_

"C'mon, we could go like this all day," began Buddy as he walked towards his downed opponent, who was slowly shrinking back to his frail human body. "One of us has gotta have a trump card to finish this."

Gar just grinned from ear to ear. "Well, now that you mention it…" Suddenly he expanded, growing until he almost blocked the sky. Beast Boy had become a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Animal Man was speechless as the Titan roared mightily.

_Beast Boy: "Take that! Doubt extinct animals are in this mighty morphin' field of yours!"_

However, before the battle could be settled Gar suddenly found a golden rope around his neck, like a leash and collar. As he regained his senses he shrank to normal, and Wonder Girl caught him as her sister quickly bound Animal Man—and just as quickly unbound him.

As Donna set her fellow Titan on the ground, he had only one thing to ask. "'Kay, I feel all weird and tingly and _not_ angry now. What happened?!"

Donna Troy sighed. "Long story short, cause I'm tired of telling it—mind control, magic lasso, no more mind control."

"Story of my life," Gar joked as he turned towards his former opponent. "Guess that 'splains all the weird crap you were spouting off, right?"

"Sure," Buddy Baker lied with a shrug. "Must be it. None of us were in our right minds." Sure, the Justice Leaguer felt bad about lying. However, if not for the mind control, he never would have even mentioned it. The nature of reality isn't fit for just anybody to hear—sometimes Buddy was annoyed that _he'd_ been let in on it. It just wouldn't be fair for poor Beast Boy to know that he was just a fictional character—and a fan version of a fictional character at that!

"So," ventured Gar as he extended his hand, "No hard feelings?"

"Please," replied Buddy, blushing slightly. "I threw the first punch. Of course there isn't!" Suddenly an idea leapt into his head that alleviated what little guilt remained. "Hey, want to come over to dinner some night soon? Ellen's become quite a little vegan connoisseur since I became Animal Man!"

"You bet!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

_Beast Boy: "I'll have to get some recipes!"_

Meanwhile, Donna Troy found her sister's hand on her shoulder. "Since we haven't located Zatanna yet nor figured how to break up the Flash and Wally, I think we had better bring the Batman to his senses now."

Wonder Woman's suggestion made the adopted Amazon a little sad. "I guess. Too bad though—I wanted to see Dick get beat up on more!"

**ROBIN VS. BATMAN**

"Too sloppy," growled the Batman, Bruce Wayne, as he dodged behind a left hook. "I could see it coming from a mile away." His opponent, seething, attacked again—and instantly Batman was beneath it, retaliating with a fist to the young acrobat's gut. "And that one was too wide."

Growling was about all Robin could do as he skidded backwards. The former circus star wasn't going to take being called out by the dark knight—and even if he had the advantage in experience, Dick still had youth on his side!

"Enough with the advice already!" he screamed as he took to the air.

_Robin: "I mean, this is the Real World, not freaking '_So You Think You Can Kung-Fu Fight?'_!"_

The teen's mid-air roundhouse kick was deflected by his opponent's forearm, and the detective used the momentum to spin into a punch of his own. Robin skidded behind it then leapt forward, landing an open palm strike on the vigilante's shoulder. However, the Batman used the unfortunate turn of events to his advantage, as he was so adept at doing, and hurled a twisting uppercut into the Titan's stomach.

Robin tumbled down the street, landing on his butt; Batman loomed over him. "Fine, no more advice. But if you're not going to learn—or fight better than that—then there's no need to play around anymore."

Bruce Wayne's costumed body moved slightly, the first signs of his finisher, when he was suddenly struck in the face by Dick Grayson's booted foot. Spinning on his hands, the boy knocked aside the Justice Leaguer with a second helicopter kick before leaping back onto his feet.

Perhaps Batman had been wrong about him! "Capoeira. Impressive."

"We had a Brazilian fire-breather at Haley's Circus," smiled Dick. "Taught me all the Capoeira moves he knew."

_Robin: "He gave me some damn fine tips on picking up the ladies too. And really, who better to ask then a Latin guy? Chicks dig 'em!"_

"And I bet it didn't take you long at all to learn," growled Batman; he wasn't at all pleased by Robin's gleeful nod 'yes'. "I spent most of my life learning every style of fighting on Earth. _You_ could do it in a year—two at the most. Your natural talent amazes even me, Robin. _Use_ it!"

"To do what, become some dark, dull guy like you?" Robin was disgusted by the idea. "No thanks! I'm fine the way I am!"

Whipping open his cloak, Bruce beckoned on his opponent. "Prove it, then."

Again a challenge was issued that could not be ignored—but this time the Batman had just as much to prove. He dashed beside a straight and pretended to jab—but it was only a feint as he appeared behind his distracted opponent, leaping into the air and landing a spinning kick upside the acrobat's head.

Robin span to face his opponent, but already the damage had slowed his reaction time. Gotham's protector grabbed his arm and twisted, and as Dick reeled back in pain Bruce responded with several karate chops to pressure points.

_Robin: "Okay, note to self: No matter what s--- this guy tells me, I still should definitely memorize where those things are. They _still_ hurt!"_

"Assh---!" screamed the Teen Titan as he charged, weaving around his black-clad opponent before charging, hopefully unseen. Sadly—though expected, considering just who his opponent _was_—the dark knight saw it coming and again got a hold of Robin's arm. He lifted the boy into the air, span him around, and piledrove him into the ground.

Again Batman just stared down at his young, battered opponent condescendingly. "Winning fights isn't just about knowing combat styles—though that _is_ essential. It's about flowing between styles and combinations of them effortlessly, like water. My last assault involved boxing, savate, knowledge of pressure points, karate and judo."

"Not to mention a little professional wrestling," joked Robin.

"Never watched it," growled Batman. "Not a fan of men jumping on each other in their underwear."

_Robin: "Heh, when you describe it that way, it sounds far too much like what we do. Damn!"_

"Still," continued Dick as he gasped for breath, "I told you to stop lecturing me. Now I'll have to teach you some stuff of my own!"

Suddenly Batman had two feet in his chin—Robin pushed himself into the air and, after the kick in question, tucked and rolled backwards into a triple somersault. As soon as his nimble feet touched pavement he rolled to the side in a cartwheel, and used his momentum to again somersault above the dark knight. With kicks coming from all directions, even Batman couldn't block them all. Dick landed, smile plastered across his face, after landing three kicks and sending the Leaguer staggering.

"Maybe you can get so much more technical than me," taunted Dick, "but I'm a helluva better acrobat than you!"

Not even a second after he finished speaking, the back of Batman's hand tore across the teen's cheek and sent him spinning like a top. "_I'm_ stronger," he countered.

"And you're both done," added a calm, motherly voice from above as Wonder Woman's golden lasso entwined both Batman and Robin, tying the two together—far closer than either ever hoped to be to the other.

"Well, this is uncomfortable," chuckled Dick. Batman just glared.

Wonder Woman cocked her head and smiled as she untied her mystical weapon. "I'm sorry it came to this, but you were being affected by—"

"Mind control," interjected the Batman. "Except not quite. That term infers a being directly controlling our thoughts and actions to make us do exactly what he or she desires, which wasn't what we were experiencing. We were just manipulated into becoming angry and releasing our inhibitions. We meant what we said, but they were things we would never have admitted if we had not been manipulated into such severe anger." The detective tapped a receiver in his ear. "Oracle, send me a list of all psionics and telepaths currently on the loose."

_Robin: "Show-off."_

_Wonder Girl: "Makes sense to me. Of course, Batman probably would have said all that stuff to Dick anyway. He just wouldn't have punched him. He's brilliant, but he's still a jerk sometimes."_

"So, now what?" asked Dick with a shrug.

"We break up the speedsters," replied Donna, mashing her fists together. "And then we just hope we can find Raven wherever she ran off to."

Batman stared over his shoulder at Robin. "Everything I said is true, though. Practice."

Dick Grayson could only reply by calling him, "Jackass."

**A DISTANT CITY—RAVEN VS. ZATANNA**

Not caring for the particulars, somewhere far enough away from the battle that the Justice Leaguers couldn't easily track them down was where Raven and Zatanna ended up. The sky was filled by a foreboding, black bird shape, and as it dissipated the two heroes were left on the city streets, staring each other down.

"What were you thinking?" asked the magician angrily. "All I was trying to do was stop the fighting!"

_Raven: "She was right, of course. I could feel within Zatanna, within me, and within the other heroes that something was not right—that some outside force was tampering with us. That said, the manipulation was extraordinarily powerful. Even my abilities could not dispel it. So, though I was not acting of my own will, I still deeply regret everything I did…"_

"I know what I _feel_," replied Raven, the edges of her dark cloak flickering like a flame. "I know that now, for once, I feel something: I feel _anger_. I do not know, nor do I understand, why this is, but I know that I must hurt you!"

Darkness leapt up a lamp pole and the object uprooted, controlled by the empath's very thoughts into swinging towards the Leaguer. Now on her toes—she wasn't going to be caught off guard twice—she pivoted out of its range and waved her wand.

"Elitcejorp pots!" cried Zatanna as the pole froze in mid-air. "Etailater!" Sparks of assorted hues exploded from her hands as the pole broke through Raven's control and instead hurled itself towards the Titan. Not appearing concerned in the least, the dark energy surrounding her cloak grew and swallowed up the object.

The showgirl's eyes grew wide. "What did you _do_?!"

"Teleported it into the middle of the ocean," replied her opponent.

_Raven: "Since that seems to be where the humans so carelessly dump their waste…"_

Zatanna took a quick step backwards, glancing all around her, trying to concoct a strategy. She needed to disable her opponent before things got messy, but even for her—one of the most powerful members of the League—it wasn't going to be easy. Not with an opponent as powerful as _Raven_.

"Snoisulli dnuorrus reh!" Within seconds the empath was bombarded with projections of her opponent from every direction—yet, of the dozens and dozens of images, only one was the real Zatanna. Discovering which one it was would be nearly impossible—at least, for anybody _else_.

"Lepxe semalf!" The spell came from the illusion standing directly to Raven's side, but as a smoldering balls of flame roared from the Leaguer's hand, her opponent somehow knew it was coming. The fire disappeared into an enormous raven-shaped blob of pure darkness.

Moments later Raven appeared behind Zatanna, redirecting her fiery attack towards the magician herself. "Dleihs tcetorp em!" she cried as an impenetrable bubble formed around her body, keeping her from even being singed as her own attack died down around her.

"Stupid," growled Raven. "An empath cannot be fooled by illusions. Did you think I could not sense which one had emotions?"

_Raven: "I must admit, I enjoyed the arrogance…this scared me. I need to remain emotionless to keep from being consumed by my abilities. I…cannot afford to be tempted to _feel_."_

A few flames still flickered around Zatanna's feet as she stared at her opponent, stunned. "What…what _are_ you?" she stammered. "I've…never seen anything like your powers before!"

"That is none of your business!" exclaimed Raven in an uncharacteristic scream. This peak in anger caused the darkness she controlled to explode around her, overtaking numerous items up and down the street—cars, newspaper dispensers, manhole covers, parking meters, _anything_ that wasn't a building—and sending them all towards Zatanna.

The showgirl span in a circle, waving her wand before screaming, "Selitcejorp nrut otni srewolf!" A stupendous explosion in a rainbow of colors left—not a dangerous assault—but a wreath of attractive roses surrounding the magician. "Srewolf kcatta!"

Zatanna's redirected weapons hurled towards Raven like beautiful, thorn covered darts. Raven wasn't intimidated. A wall of black intercepted them, spinning the roses and sending them back towards the empath's opponent—her surprise only lasted a second before she cursed her own stupidity.

"Tropelet em dniheb Nevar nhet kcatta htiw a retaw enam—" Instantaneously Zatanna disappeared and reappeared behind Raven, but the empath knew better and had already turned to face her displaced opponent—which left her wide open to a clever assault! "—morf eht tnorf!" A pipe burst from the ground and sent a massive jet of stinging water into the unprepared Titan's back, sending her reeling down the street. However, Zatanna wasn't finished. "Esacne reh ni eci!"

A tiny whirlwind of artic air swirled around Raven, leaving her nothing but a glacier in the middle of a city street in summer. Wiping the sweat from her brow, Zatanna wasn't even pleased with her victory—she was too concerned about Raven. Something wasn't _right_ with that girl.

Suddenly, the ice shattered and blew across the block in a black explosion.

Raven floated unharmed, watching gleefully as Zatanna wiped away blood from scratches the flying shards of ice had left. "Your anger is growing, Zatanna. You cannot touch me, and I can sense how it frustrates you. You cannot figure out why I am so powerful, how to overcome my abilities, not even what they are. This has…never happened to you before, has it?"

"No," replied Zatanna with a huff. "So why don't you tell me? What _are_ you?!"

_Raven: "She does not want to know. _Nobody _should know what I am."_

"You cannot make me tell you," taunted the manipulated empath.

"Like Hell I can't," growled Zatanna as she waved her wand. "Wohs em tahw uoy era!"

The darkness flickering around Raven began to fade—but the Titan only grinned, evilly, maliciously. "As you wish. But you will not like it."

And as Raven was forced to stop hiding behind her cloak, all the cameras could catch was the sound of Zatanna screaming before suddenly—

**RAVEN'S CAMERAS OFF LINE—TRANSMISSION LOST**

**OFF THE AIR—SPEED VS. THE FLASH**

A funnel of yellow surrounded the Flash, spiraling high into the air, cutting off all possible escape routes. This whirlwind was actually the Titan known as Speed—a bitterteen who blamed the Flash for the accident that granted him his powers, but cost him his human body. He raced so fast that his new body—composed of energy from the mythical source of all inertia, the Speed Force—appeared to stretch the entire diameter of the tornado.

"Wally?" Flash asked, concerned for the young man's safety, "What in the world are you doing?!"

"Moving so fast that the cameras Jupiter has tracking me can't keep up," replied Speed, his voice echoing from all directions at once. "I wanted to have a discussion without having to worry about protecting your precious secret identity…Uncle Barry."

Barry Allen's face lit up beneath his crimson cowl—so there was still hope for his nephew! "See, I knew there was a part of you that care—"

"Can it," growled the speed specter. "I couldn't care less if the world found out that the Flash was really mild mannered police scientist Barry Allen. I couldn't care less if Captain Cold or the Top or even the Reverse Flash himself showed up on your doorstep tomorrow." Flash took a step backwards, mortified because he knew Wally meant it. "The only reason I'm keeping your secret is to protect Aunt Iris!"

Wally West's 'eyes' narrowed. "What she sees in you I'll never know."

The words of his nephew stabbed the Flash, but at least he knew why Wally was so angry—and could address it. "Wally, I'm trying to help you! But there's only so much I can do if you won't come in for tests! Why don't you—"

"No way!" exclaimed Speed. "I'm not going to be poked and prodded at by some stupid scientists who care more about keeping their grant than curing me!"

Flash winced, growing frustrated that nothing he said worked. "You're not being reasonable! I won't let them do anything to you!"

"Oh yeah," retorted Wally, "I mean, after all, you did such a great job protecting me from _this_."

"Stop being such a pessimist! Sure, this is a tragedy, but if you'll just calm down for a second and cooperate we may be able to fix it! And in the meantime you don't have to be miserable! Using your powers to help people is more fulfilling than you'll ever real—"

"Shut up already!" Speed's words were so loud they hurt the Flash's ears, and as he jerked in pain golden energy began seeping from the scarlet speedster's body, and being absorbed into the yellow funnel. "All I wanted was to be normal: to finish school, have a girlfriend, maybe get married and start a family, work as a mechanic…just an average, down to Earth life! Don't you see? None of that is possible now!"

However, Barry was somewhat distracted. As the energy was wrung from his body, he started to feel weak, slow—_normal_. "Wally…what're you…"

"Absorbing your speed," growled Speed. "Taking what's precious to you like you did to me."

Lightning erupted from the Flash's eyes and soon engulfed his entire body—but instead of burning or killing him, he actually looked more energized! "Wally, I've been to the Speed Force and back. It doesn't just grant me some of its power now like the other speedsters—I _mainline_ it. I can't be cut off from my speed!"

"Fine!" Wally skidded to a stop, his fist becoming tangible as he exploded forward, connecting with a right cross that held all the speed of his whirlwind—and all his rage. The world seemed to snap back into place—as well as the cameras planted within the Titan. "We'll just do this the old fashioned way!

**ON THE AIR**

The blood of Keystone's protector filled the air, but he didn't let this injury deter him—becoming a red and yellow blur, the Flash landed on his feet and simply crossed his arms. Despite his nephew's extreme anger, he wasn't going to retaliate. He wouldn't throw a single punch.

Of course, Speed was another matter. The Titan threw punches like there was no tomorrow, and the two weaved back and forth so fast they were almost invisible.

_Speed: "Dammit, he's just as fast as I am, and _he's_ the one with all the smarts and super speed tricks. Of course, wasn't time for that anyway. I didn't care about tricks or running in stinking circles—I just wanted to see his face bashed in!"_

Despite Wally's best efforts, however, the Flash was able to see through his moves—he knew that fighting angry, while improving strength and aggression, definitely diminished the attacker's skills. Not even uncrossing his arms, Barry Allen dodged below, above, besides and around every punch his opponent unleashed.

_Speed: "I can tell from his stupid smirk—he thinks I'm just fighting angry. Well, of _course_ I am, but it doesn't mean I don't have a plan!"_

Wally West picked up speed, drawing more and more from the Speed Force with every punch. The Flash followed suit, and a whirlwind again picked up around the two as their supersonic movements started to dig through the pavement beneath their feet. However, as the Leaguer maneuvered and continued to grow faster, he realized that he was growing dangerously close to the threshold—that speed limit he dare not cross again.

He was forced to slam on his brakes, snapping to a stop as Speed's yellow fist of compressed energy soared towards his face at Mach 7.

_Speed: "See, at a certain speed the world can no longer contain the energy—and any speedster going that fast will be absorbed into the Speed Force forever. Except for the Flash. Somehow, he came back—but I doubt he can do it twice. A goody goody like him will never risk it—but as a part of the Speed Force, it's not a danger to me. Finally, I can hit 'im!"_

Still, as Wally's fist tore through the Flash's head, he didn't seem affected in the slightest. In fact, the scarlet speedster actually smiled—vibrating at tremendous speeds, his nephew's fist actually slipped in between his molecules, not even touching him! Barry dashed through the other speedster and came to a stop behind him.

_Speed: "Of course, that whole vibrating thing. Y'know, I may not be the biggest physics buff, but I can't even begin to imagine all the universal laws that must break. But y'know what, now's a stupid time to worry about that. If neither of us can be touched, this is gonna be tougher than I thought!"_

Barry Allen likely had the same thoughts on his mind—though he was more worried at how to restrain his nephew—but fortunately, neither had to solve the dilemmas. Suddenly a golden lasso fell around the Leaguer, and the Justice League and Teen Titans stepped between the two speedsters.

"Calm down now," commanded Wonder Woman. "This was neither of your faults. You're under mind control."

As the Amazon princess loosened her weapon, Speed only growled. "Please. This is _exactly_ what I've wanted to do since I saw MTV was making this stupid show. If Flash wants to cop out like that, let 'em, but I know I was in complete control of myself."

_Speed: "I mean, seriously? Mind control? They must be high!"_

"Speed is speaking the truth," declared an unearthly voice. Raven emerged from only a small puddle of black, Zatanna floating before her on a bed of the same dark energy. "He indeed acted of his own resolve. His actions were simply used as a scapegoat, so that the manipulation would go unnoticed for longer."

"Zee!" exclaimed Barry, ignoring the empath's statement and pulling his injured teammate from the Titan's grasp in a single, instantaneous dash. "What did you _do_ to her?!"

_Beast Boy: "Well, I guess Wally might not get the 'Worst Treatment of a Justice Leaguer' award after all!"_

"I…am sorry," stated the Titan in her usual calm, cold voice. "Neither of us could control our impulses due to the manipulation. I have healed her wounds but I fear it may still be a while before her mind makes a full recovery."

Looking down at the unconscious showgirl in his arms, Barry Allen then turned a pleading eye towards another teammate. "Batm—"

"Yes, Flash, we'll get her back to the Watchtower immediately." Batman turned towards the rest of his team. "Ready?"

Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Animal Man and the Flash nodded. Suddenly Hawkgirl landed besides them, with the unconscious body of Deathstroke in her arms. "Only if we can stop off real fast to drop his ass in jail."

"Of course," confirmed the caped crusader. Turning towards the Teen Titans, he continued. "But this isn't done. As soon as the Martian Manhunter gets back I'm sending him by the tower to search your minds for signs of the manipulation."

_Robin: "Goodie. If they have to keep comin' back, can't he at least send a hottie like Black Canary or Power Girl? God, Power Girl, her boobs are like freaking bigger than my head! It's amazi—oh, s---, I think I need to change my pants…"_

However, Wonder Girl's eyes lit up at hearing the news. "Kyle! Think you can come by too?!"

The Green Lantern hesitated for a second. "Donna, I dunno if I'll have the time…"

_Cyborg: "Make time, punk. She's your girlfriend."_

Donna Troy wasn't giving up. "Pleeeeeeeeeease?"

Kyle Rayner just smiled. "Fine, I'll be there."

_Raven: "Interesting. Green Lantern definitely feels…affection for her, but I think he may just want to be able to say that he has a girlfriend but is not very willing to put in the work it requires."_

"So, this is it?" asked Speed, again interrupting the conversation. "You're all just going to act like everything is fine even after all I've told you?!"

Robin stepped up to the speed specter. "Of course, druggie. You're being a drama queen! Stop trying to get so much attention and—"

Lightning exploded around Wally. "Oh, like you're one to talk about being a glory hound, circus boy. Forget this! I did what I came to do! World, think about what I said! Can you really trust the Flash again?!"

The Flash tried to move to respond to his nephew's claim one final time, but he was frozen in his tracks. Wally was stealing all their speed! Of course, this wouldn't keep Barry Allen down for long, but it could just long enough for Speed to make his move. A single tear rolled down the Flash's cheek. "Wally…I'm sorry…"

"I'm sick of this, and I'm through with it!" exclaimed Speed. Then he exploded forward in a blinding dash, uprooting pavement and shattering windows with a sonic boom. He left only smoke, a mile long trench, and one final statement:

"I quit!"

**OFF THE AIR—LOREN JUPITER'S OFFICE, LATER THAT NIGHT**

Shadows filled the office of the director of 'The Real World: Titan's Tower', Loren Jupiter. Dangerous, clandestine liaisons were common place in this room, and generally known to his staff (though definitely not to the stars of his show)—but the meeting now being conducted there was a secret even to Jupiter's trusted secretary, Ms. Clay.

"That was brilliant! Amazing!" raved Jupiter to his mysterious guest. "The drama of that rescue and the Robin and Deathstroke fight was just fantastic, but yet it was nothing compared to what came next—

"The JUSTICE LEAGUE! Any appearance of them will be a fan favorite, yet _you_ stepped it up a notch! The manipulation was a brilliant idea! Who wouldn't want to watch the Teen Titans and the Justice League battle each other?! Those fights—seeing my Titans go toe to toe with the Justice League and still hold their own was exactly what we needed!"

"Yes," replied his mysterious visitor, "I thought it turned out quite well myself."

"Oh, the ratings we'll get on this!"

Jupiter's guest had something to add. "But what about the League? Batman is already suspicious, and with the Manhunter coming—"

"Don't worry, my friend," said Mr. Jupiter, flashing the smile of a used car salesman. "You know all the resources I've got at my disposal. The League won't find _anything _to lead them back to us—not the tiniest trace."

However, Loren Jupiter then calmed himself, leaning against his table to face his seated guest at eye level. "Still, I have one concern—Speed. Wally is an absolutely necessary source of antagonism. I need him back!" The director pointed. "Can I trust you to bring him back to me?"

"Absolutely," answered Raven, floating forward out of the shadows, a malicious smile on what little of her face could be seen. "I look forward to it."

Next time: Incoming Trouble!


	6. Incoming Trouble!

Disclaimer: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and much of my work is influenced by them as well as by the other talented authors who've worked on the Titans, such as Geoff Johns and the staff of the animated series. I hope my work can even begin to compare to theirs.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Episode 6: Incoming Trouble!**

**ROLE CALL:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

**And just maybe…or maybe not:**

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

**ON THE AIR—ALLEN RESIDENCE, KEYSTONE CITY, KANSAS, USA**

While the stereotype of Kansas as a monotone, desert-like state full of absolutely nothing certainly has some truth behind it, one certainly wouldn't draw that conclusion by looking at Keystone City, Kansas. The sprawling city was home to countless factories, which churned out quality, made-in-America auto parts. Unions full of hard-working gear-heads ran this town—its reputation was known across the whole country.

In fact, the only thing Keystone was more famous for was for being the home of the Flash. The scarlet speedster protected Keystone with his life, and its people loved him, _adored_ him for it. They'd even erected a museum in his honor! However, they didn't know that he was Barry Allen, a seemingly normal, ordinary citizen.

Actually, hardly _anybody_ knew this important piece of information—just his family and a few close friends on the Justice League. The Flash's secret identity was his most well guarded secret as, in his opinion, a public identity only brought danger to everybody the hero loved.

Unfortunately, then, Barry's identity was now known to one person who, perhaps, it wasn't very safe with: his nephew through marriage, Wally West. While visiting his aunt, she introduced him to the Flash—through pure coincidence the same accident that gave Flash his powers occurred again. However, the circumstances weren't the same, and without the guarantee of another positive outcome, the Flash took action. Unfortunately, the combination of the lightning, the chemicals and perhaps Flash's rescue sent Wally barreling head-first into the mythical Speed Force.

Wally emerged later in complete control of the force's energy—but without a body to call his own. Always stubborn and impatient to begin with, this loss drove him over the edge—he became consumed over his anger, focusing it on the Flash, whom he believed responsible for his predicament. Wally—taking on the code-name "Speed"—even went as far as to join a reality show superhero team, the Teen Titans, just to draw the Flash onto TV so as to call him out. When Wally found this endeavor not bringing him immediate results, he fled, saying that he quit the team.

Fortunately for the Flash, one thing kept Speed from revealing Barry Allen's identity on national television: Iris Allen, Wally's best friend and aunt and the love of Barry's life. She was everything in both men's eyes.

As a reporter, Iris was used to sometimes keeping odd hours. As she entered her home one afternoon, she expected to have the house to herself. From all appearances, it seemed that way—but she knew it wasn't true. She knew she had a visitor.

"Wally?" she called. "Wally? I know you're here."

_Speed: "I shouldn't have been surprised she could sense me. After all, Aunt Iris knows me better'n anybody. Nobody else ever _cared_ enough to. My mom and dad, they had no business being parents. God, I hope I never see them again. But Aunt Iris? What can I say—she's my best friend. After that crap with the Justice League, I didn't know where else to go—but really, there was only one choice. I had to talk to Aunt Iris."_

Air shimmered around Iris Allen as Wally appeared, the golden energy of the Speed Force solidifying into a primitive body. "Hey, Aunt Iris," he said meekly. "How's it going?"

"Not so good," replied Iris, crossing her arms. "I heard about your little confrontation with the Justice League. What were you thinking?"

Wally's good mood instantly vanished. "God, I came here to get _away_ from this crap, not to get lectured. Can't we just, talk, like we used to?!"

"That's what we're doing," said Iris with a slight smile. "We're talking about your future. And the fact is, nobody really knows what's going on with you yet. I hate to say it, but…you could be stuck like this for a long time. You're not going to be able to survive that long if you stay as angry as you are. And embarrassing yourself on TV certainly isn't helping."

_Speed: "Like I care what any of you guys think of me."_

"Well don't worry," said the speed specter, "I'm done with that stupid show. I just don't know where to go now." They both knew he wouldn't stay with his Aunt Iris, even as much as he wanted to—not while the Flash lived there.

"Go back."

Wally was shocked, and stumbled backwards. "What?! Why the hell would I want to do that?"

"Watch the language, Wally," said Iris with a frown. "And yes, I think you should go back."

"Why?!"

_Speed: "I mean, what's to like about any of them? They certainly didn't give _me_ a chance!"_

"Because, they've all gone through rough times like you are now." Iris rested her hand on her nephew's shoulder. "I know you've always had a hard time making friends, Wally, but now you've been given the chance to really find some people your age that actually have things in common with you. You should take the opportunity."

Grumbling, Wally didn't have much to say but, "C'mon, you can't be serious."

"Wally, I am," she said, looking into his eyes. "You'd be helping yourself, but if you don't care about that, then do it for me. Please."

Speed shifted his stance, actually giving the thought consideration.

_Speed: "The last thing I wanted to do was go live with Dick or Donna again, but this is my Aunt Iris! She's…never lead me wrong before."_

"Fine," growled the Titan, "I'll go back. But they get one chance. They keep treating me like crap, I'm out for good."

Iris Allen wanted to tell her nephew that much of his treatment was his own fault, but she knew what he could handle and couldn't, and this certainly was filed under the 'couldn't'. "That's all I'm asking, Wally." Suddenly they both heard the door slam. "Well, sounds like your uncle's home. Want to stick around for a bit?"

Grumbling, Speed replied with a, "No thanks." The _last_ thing he wanted to do was see his uncle the Flash again. Fortunately, he had an excuse. "If I'm going to be doing this, I better get back before they give my spot on the team away!"

"That's the spirit, kiddo," smiled his aunt. "I love you."

"I love you too, Aunt Iris." Then Wally faded away into energy, merging through the walls and speeding away in a flash of gold back towards Titans Tower.

_Speed: "It feels good to be doing something for Aunt Iris. She always reminds me that there's at least one good person out there in a world full of idiots and jerks."_

**TITANS TOWER, LIVING ROOM—SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA**

"Man," remarked Gar Logan, sprawled across the couch. "I can't believe we lost a cast member already. This'is got to be some sort of record, right?"

The mechanical eye in Victor Stone's eye lit up as he accessed the internet. "Probably, but just give me a second and I can look it up."

_Beast Boy: "Holy crap that's cool. Wireless internet right in your head! Wow, just think of the things you could look up without anybody even knowing!"_

Suddenly Robin grabbed the machine-man's shoulders from behind, shaking him slightly. "Forget _that_, tin man!" Tapping one of the pouches on his utility belt, music started blaring from the tower's speakers. The teen started dancing—albeit poorly—as one of the seventies' greatest hits filled the tower. "Celebrate good times—COME ON!"

Cyborg just replied with a raised eyebrow. "When did I say you could mess with my sound system?"

_Beast Boy: "Geez, _Dick's_ sure happy that Wally's gone."_

_Robin: "Why _shouldn't_ I be throwing a party now that the druggies gone? C'mon, who could like such a killjoy? Now just have to get the other two guys out and all the girls will be mine…"_

"C'mon you guys, join in!" smiled the acrobat, ignoring Cyborg's questioning as he pulled out moves that would have made John Travolta envious—in 1975. Shrugging slightly, Garfield slank to his feet and tried to pull off a few moves of his own.

_Beast Boy: "Hey, at least I _know_ I'm not any good. I think Dick thinks he's the king of disco or something!"_

_Cyborg: "Damn. It might not beat out Gar's video of Starry naked, but Dick's dance moves should still give me some serious kudos on YouTube!"_

Sighing, Donna Troy pushed aside what little was left of her lunch and floated into the air. "You all look ridiculous, you know that right?"

With a shrug Beast Boy asked, "What's so bad about looking ridiculous if you're having fun?"

_Beast Boy: "Y'know, forget 'The Real World', Donna'd fit right in over on 'Laguna Beach'!"_

"Oh come on Donna," smiled Dick Grayson, "You know you want to too! We can do the tango!"

_Robin: "Or maybe even the horizontal tango!"_

Wonder Girl just glared down at her teammate. "No. Never."

"I do not know, Donna," replied Starfire as she floated in between Gar and Dick, spinning into several lethal combat moves, striking only air. "This seems to be fairly effective combat training, and that is what you want us to be doing, no?"

Donna rolled her eyes as the rest of the team chuckled. "No, Starry," said Cyborg, "It's not fighting, it's _dancing_."

_Cyborg: "Though I guess Dick's dance moves could be considered fighting, since if any bad guys saw 'em they'd be too busy rolling 'round on the ground laughing to fight us!"_

"Yeah," smiled Robin as he grabbed the alien beauty's hand and span her into his grasp. "It's fun!"

Koriand'r smiled. "Could you teach me?" Dick's eyes nearly exploded out of his eyes.

"You bet!"

Suddenly Gar found himself being pulled aside by his mechanical buddy. "This ain't gonna end well," whispered Vic. "I'm gonna download 'em some dance lessons—"

"Don't worry about it, bro," replied Gar, smiling as he gestured towards the happy couple. "They're having fun. Why ruin that?"

Pondering over it for a second, Victor Stone just smiled. "Guess you're right."

_Beast Boy: "Really, is something like bad dancing such a problem? It's gotta be better for them to be enjoying themselves while messing up something stupid then to be miserable trying to be perfect."_

_Wonder Girl: "Dancing really isn't the point. Mind control or not, we just embarrassed ourselves big time with the Justice League debacle. I feel we should at least be trying to track down the perpetrator if not perfecting our fighting skills. And also, really, there's nothing wrong with having a little fun, but even as much as I disliked Wally, it really seems heartless to be so happy about him falling apart like that._

_"Sadly, I think the only one would agree with me about all this might just be Raven…and she won't come out of her room long enough to hear about any of this!"_

Oblivious to any debate on their actions were Robin and Starfire. The acrobat swung his orange-skinned partner as she ducked beneath his arm, both smiling and laughing like it was their prom.

_Robin: "At least somebody here knows how to party!"_

_Starfire: "Dancing with Dick was most enjoyable. It has been a long time since I have had this much fun! Of course, on Tamaran movements of this nature would only be reserved for more…intimate couples? I do not know the customs of Earth very well yet…could Dick be trying to tell me something?"_

Dismissing everything with a shrug, Donna Troy looked for her cell phone, hoping to find out just when Kyle would be stopping by. Cyborg, meanwhile, plopped himself down on the couch and turned on their giant-sized TV—taking up an entire wall—just by pointing at it.

_Cyborg: "This just mebbe my favorite invention of all—a remote control built right into my hand! No more losing the remote or fighting for control! From now on I'm large and in charge!"_

Just as Beast Boy's tiny attention span was distracted by the television, his pointy ears perked up—though nobody else could hear it over the roar of Robin's music, he detected the doorbell ringing!

"Anybody else hear that?" asked the changeling, who was answered with nothing but silence. His expression dropping into a frown he continued with, "Fine, I'll go check." Gar shrank and stretched into a green wolf and bounded off towards the elevator that would take him to the tower's lobby on the ground floor.

Only a minute later his scream echoed throughout the tower.

"YOU?!"

The other four Titans jumped, surprised they could hear their teammate's cry through the reinforced tower walls. Something must have been horribly wrong!

"Gar!" Robin was thrown backwards as Koriand'r bursted forwards, leaving behind a flame-like trail as she flew through a window and soared towards the front door.

_Cyborg: "Dammit, we just _got_ that window fixed from the Dr. Light fight!"_

_Starfire: "With a scream that loud, Gar had to be in trouble! Did anybody really expect me to worry about anything else but saving him?!"_

_Wonder Girl: "Didn't surprise me, but I really wish Kory would've thought before she stormed out there on the warpath! We didn't even know who it was or if it was a threat!"_

"I got her!" exclaimed Donna as she followed, tying her lasso and sending it looping through the air towards her Tamaranian teammate. Starfire didn't even notice as she barreled towards the figure standing next to Beast Boy by the front entrance.

Just as the alien drew within feet of her target, green energy flaring from her palms like bonfires, she was restrained, wrangled within a sparking golden rope. "What are you doing?!" growled Starfire over her shoulder.

"Stopping you from doing something stupid!" replied Wonder Girl, pointing towards the "target." "Did you even know who you were attacking?"

Kory glanced towards the stunned Gar, and noticed standing next to him another stunned boy, slightly taller but just as thin and lanky. He must have been 20 at the most—his black hair was trimmed short, and he wore sandals, denim shorts and a t-shirt emblazoned with a picture of a beer keg. "Who _are_ you?"

Blushing slightly, Garfield gestured towards the boy. "This is my cousin, Matt."

With a shrug, Matt simply said, "Hey. 'Sup?"

**TITANS TOWER, LIVING ROOM/KITCHEN**

Sitting at the kitchen table, Matt Logan moved like a human whirlwind as he gobbled down food, almost seeming not to even chew! Just outside the room stood the five Titans, staring in at him.

"He sure eats a lot," marveled Starfire, her pupil-less green eyes wide as she observed the teen nearly swallow a turkey whole. "I did not think humans could consume so much so quickly!"

_Starfire: "Even a Tamaranian would have trouble consuming that much, though we are known to eat with the same intensity! Matt would fit in well on our world!"_

"So anyway," interrupted Donna, trying to gain their attention for a second, "The more important question here is: if it was just your cousin, why did you scream?"

Vic grinned. "Believe me, family can be pretty damn scary sometimes."

_Cyborg: "Hell, if I saw my grandparents coming I'd run until my power sources died!"_

_Wonder Girl: "That's kind of sad. On Themyscara we were all one big family, and we all loved each other. Here in this world I thought families were supposed to be closer than anybody—it's a shame to throw that away. Hades, I just wish I _knew_ mine…"_

"It's not _that_," dismissed Beast Boy with a smile. "Matt's awesome! I was just surprised that he showed up here! I haven't seen him in years—I didn't even know he was on the West Coast!"

_Beast Boy: "I mean, last time I saw Matt I didn't even have my powers yet! My aunt an' uncle an' him saw my family off at the airport before our expedition to Africa—and then I got sick and mom and dad died an' man, with life so screwed up I didn't even know how to track him down!"_

"So, like, is he staying?" Robin asked nervously as he looked at the growing pile of trash and the shrinking reserves of food. "'Cause the rest of us'll need to eat too…"

"I was hoping I could," replied Matt himself, emerging from the wreckage. Before he could start his next sentence he belched, and this made him notice the patches of barbeque sauce left scattered across his face. He wiped them off with his shirt. "Gar'n I have a lot of catching up to do."

_Wonder Girl: "Congratulations, Dick! Turns out you don't have the worst manners in the world after all!"_

Garfield Logan's eyes lit up. "That'd be totally _sweet!_" The young Titan started jumping around like a hyperactive squirrel. "What're you doing out here? Are your mom and dad here?"

"'Nah," Matt said as he yawned and stretched. "Haven't seen mom or pops in over a year. They kicked me out 'cuz I wouldn't get a job." The teen grunted. "Like I could afford to waste time on some dead-end job. I want to be _big_. So I decided to hitchhike out West, try my luck here. I've already had a few parts in some pretty big movies, I've got a couple've screenplays going along pretty well—"

"Happening to be standing on the street when a film is shooting doesn't count as being in movies," interrupted Cyborg.

Matt didn't even seem embarrassed. "How'd you figure that out?"

"Googled ya'," smiled Vic. "And just how far along are you with those screenplays?"

Smiling, Matt tapped the side of his head as he replied, "I've got some pretty good ideas for 'em brewing around up here."

_Cyborg: "Figures as much. I can say the same, but it doesn't mean I'm a writer!"_

_Beast Boy: "See, he's on the right track! That sounds like such a cool year, hitchhiking across America, striking out on his own! Sounds a lot better than how I've spent my last year since the Doom Patrol was killed…"_

Oblivious to any criticism being thrown his way, Matt surveyed the room, almost looking bored. "So what you guys got to _do_ around here?" Before anybody could even begin to formulate a response, he answered his own question. "Holy s---!" The teen dashed forward and leapt over the back of the couch, lying across the sofa with his stomach on the seat and his legs dangling over the back.

"This is the most kick_ass_ TV I've ever seen!" he exclaimed as he grabbed the back-up remote and quickly found suitable entertainment. "Check it out guys! Women's beach volleyball!"

"A man after my own heart," smiled Dick Grayson. "Your cousin's pretty cool," said the acrobat to Beast Boy as he dashed past the changeling to take his place on the couch. As he watched the bikini clad athletes bounce about, Gar was a tad too distracted to have a reply.

From her vantage point near the kitchen, Donna just scowled. "Shameful."

"What is the matter with it?" inquired Kory.

Her voice filled with disgust, Wonder Girl explained, "They don't care about volleyball! They're just watching it for the girls!"

"Then those airing the show are rather smart," mused Starfire, "As they know how to attract every possible viewer to their program." Donna just replied with a sigh. "Am I wrong?"

_Wonder Girl: "No, she's not, but that's half the problem! It's horrible that it works that way!"_

"Forget it Kory," dismissed the Amazon. "You wouldn't understand."

The alien only looked on sadly. "No, I suppose I would not."

"Aw man!" Both girls turned to see Cyborg yelling into the refrigerator, which was filled with about twenty empty boxes and cartons—but not food! "Matt got everything!"

_Wonder Girl: "Metabolisms like that are wasted on men…I'm so jealous."_

"How _dare_ he?!" questioned Donna, her anger blazing. "We can't let him stay here if he's going to be like that!"

"Why not?" asked her Tamaranian teammate. "MTV provides us with as much food as we need. It is only a minor inconvenience, no?"

"It's just the principal of it all!" replied Wonder Girl.

_Starfire: "Yes, it is _always_ just principal with you."_

"Nah, we can't kick 'im out," said Vic. "Matt's pretty much the only family Gar's got. We owe it to 'em to let him stay for a bit."

_Cyborg: "I mean, it'd break the little guy's heart if Matt couldn't stay for a while. I don't want to do that to my friend, 'specially since it looks like he's had his heart broken a lot in his life already."_

"Fine," acquiesced Donna Troy. "If I could put up with Dick and Wally both, I can put up with Matt for a bit."

_Wonder Girl: "But I have a feeling I'm going to be spending a lot of time in my room for the foreseeable future."_

"Now this is the life," smiled Gar over on the couch, the smile so large it was taking up much of his face.

"You said it, cuz'," replied Matt, his eyes never leaving the screen. As one of the girls leapt and spiked the ball onto her opponents' side, the camera zoomed down low for a panty shot. "Man, that director knows what he's doing! God, the camera angles!"

"It's official," declared Robin. "Nothing could ruin this day for me."

**OFF THE AIR—APPROACHING TITANS ISLAND**

Though Wally West could move practically at the speed of light no matter what his form, he preferred to keep his "body" solid as he ran back towards Titans Tower. While running, with his arms pumping and his feet beating across the ground, he at least could _pretend_ he was human.

The speedster had barely even entered California before he was already within sight of the island, and within an instant he was at the entrance. Reverting to pure energy, Speed slid through the closed front doors effortlessly and skidded to a stop within the tower lobby. Hardening back into his body-like shell, he took a look around the spacious room.

This was his last chance to turn back before he rejoined for good. A huge part of him wanted to. He was so angry at the Teen Titans that he never wanted to see them again. Yet, deep down inside even _he_ knew it was jealously that made him feel this way—maybe if he treated them with some respect, they'd repay him in turn. For his Aunt Iris, he had to take the chance.

Maybe it would work out fine. Maybe he'd even like it. Heck, maybe he _could_ be a hero. For a brief moment, Wally started to smile. Maybe life wasn't as bad as he always made it out to be.

"You are sadly mistaken." The ominous voice brought Speed to attention—instantly a bird shaped blob of darkness exploded before him, ensnaring the teen's feet within black as the same darkness filled the room like a fog. Emerging from the chaos was Raven, almost completely obscured besides her glowing white eyes.

"You may think you could change, but you again are sadly mistaken," continued the empath mercilessly. "For even while you are thinking clearly now, your anger would too quickly again obscure your mind. You are unstable and cannot be trusted, Speed."

Wally was spinning his arms at mach two, trying to drive off the darkness enveloping his body, but it was all for naught. "How can you say that?!" growled Speed. "Why the hell are you doing this? Have you gone insane again?!"

"No. I am thinking quite clearly," replied Raven as the room was completely filled with black, which was nearly swallowing Wally West alive. "I have been given the assignment of bringing you back to the program and ensuring that you remain with us. I cannot depend on your unstable free will for this."

"What're you _talking_ about?!" screamed Wally. "A job? For who?! I don't understand what's going on!" With the darkness up to his neck, the speedster was getting desperate. "Please, _stop!_" he pleaded.

"I cannot, and it is a waste of my time to answer your questions, as I will ensure you do not remember this encounter anyway." Gritting his 'teeth' in anger, Speed looked straight up, trying to keep his mouth free. "As I was saying, I must take matters into my own hands. Now, I _could_ just manipulate you into _wanting_ to stay, but that is no fun."

Suddenly, the empath smiled. "As I am sure you know, I do not like you, Speed. You are so consumed in self-pity and anger that you cannot even begin to fathom the pain others have gone through. So I will make you stay by inflicting the cruelest punishment possible: I shall make you fall in _love_."

Wally's screams were swallowed up as he was immersed by complete and total darkness. Then, in an instant it all disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and the Titan's unconscious form fell to the ground. Floating above him, Raven only smiled, relishing the hatred and arrogance she was so rarely allowed to display.

"You shall stay because I have made you fall in love with _me_."

**ON THE AIR—TITANS TOWER, LIVING ROOM**

Having joined the other men on the couch, Cyborg sighed heavily as the beach volleyball game continued. "C'mon, this isn't fair!"

"I'll say," growled Robin. "All the panty shots are of the same couple've girls! They've barely shown the Asian chick at all!"

"Eh, that's probably because she's got her own website," mentioned Matt, never ungluing his eyes from the screen as he spoke to the others. "Want the link later?"

"No, it's not that!" interrupted Vic Stone—purposely, as he wished this conversation to go on no longer. "It's just the game is so one sided! That one team's got all the points! It's not any fun to watch!"

This statement stunned the three boys, actually causing Matt Logan to look away for a second and scratch his head. "You care about the game?"

Victor was confused by Matt's confusion. "Um…yeah?"

"That's not why you watch beach volleyball, bro." The slacker looked deathly serious, as if the world revolved around watching girls bounce around on television. "You do _like_ girls, don't you?"

"Of course," grunted Cyborg sincerely, "But it doesn't mean I have to be a horndog like you guys. I like 'em, but after a while it gets old if everything else is boring."

_Cyborg: "'Sides, while I like girls, they don't like me much anymore. Girls and cyborgs don't exactly gel, 'specially the kind that can't do anything with 'em anymore. Sometimes I think it'd be better for my sanity just to forget about 'em altogether."_

Meanwhile, Starfire still stood by the dining room, watching the four teens much more closely than the game.

_Starfire: "Their actions are…confusing. They watch this game as if they were hypnotized, yet they care nothing of the actual competition? I understand that Donna said they simply watched so that they could observe the females, but are they truly that obsessed with appearances?"_

While the alien was lost in her thoughts, Donna Troy emerged from the elevator, tucking her cell-phone away in her belt. She became slightly irate as she noticed the boys still immersed in their fan-service, but quickly calmed down as she next observed her teammate.

"You don't have anything better to do then watch them?" asked the Amazon.

"Truthfully, no," replied the Tamaranian, "Though I suppose that even if I did I would still be here." Never one to hide her thoughts or be shy, she asked, "Donna, are they truly that concerned with appearances?"

Wonder Girl frowned. "You have no idea. Most guys their age don't really care about anything but how hot a girl is."

"Hot?" asked Koriand'r. "So they are concerned with their temperature as well? Does temperature perhaps affect their ability to mate properly?"

_Wonder Girl: "You know, I don't know about humans, but I hear that is something to worry about with some animals…but really that's just trailing off the subject. There are some pretty nasty things Kory's going to have to learn about living on Earth, so I might as well get one over with now."_

"No," sighed Donna, "It just means really, really attractive. And no matter how great a girl's personality is, most guys don't seem to even care, as long as they're hot."

_Wonder Girl: "Which is why I tend to like slightly older guys…though Kyle being a bit mature for his age also helps."_

_Starfire: "Donna…cannot be correct! Dick has been giving me so many signals! It is obvious he enjoys the…'hot girls'…but there must be more to us!"_

"Are you sure?" questioned Kory. "On Tamaran physical attraction, while present, was often the least important thing in a relationship. What is important there is love and passion and how someone makes us feel!"

_Wonder Girl: "Sometimes I just want to take Kory aside and yell at her, 'This isn't Tamaran!!'…but then I remember how naïve, truthful, and innocent she is and I just can't."_

"Believe me," said the Wonder Girl sadly, "I'm sure. Don't let yourself get hurt."

Her alien friend was confused, but before she could fire off any more questions she was interrupted by a yellow streak zooming into the room, demanding the attention of even those transfixed by the volley ball.

"Hey guys!" exclaimed Speed with a half grin. "Miss me?"

_Robin: "DAMMIT!"_

"Wally!" Suddenly Starfire was on the speed specter's back, hugging him so hard she started to crack his Speed Force shell. "It is so good to see you back!" If Wally was still capable of blushing, he would have.

_Speed: "I…had no idea she cared!"_

_Starfire: "Sure, Wally occasionally annoyed me while he was here, but how can I _not_ be overjoyed to see him return and give us a second chance?! I shall be sure to do this for him as well!"_

Seeing something shimmering out of the corner of his eye as he strained from the alien hug, Speed noticed the disco ball hanging. "What's with the disco ball?"

Instantly Wonder Girl slapped her hand over the brutally honest Starfire's mouth, and Cyborg followed suit with Robin, for reasons that needn't be explained. Instead, Beast Boy stood. "Oh, Dick went all John Travolta on us a little while back, you're better off having missed it anyway man."

_Beast Boy: "Hey, and I didn't even have to lie!"_

Raising an eyebrow, Matt Logan had only one thing to ask: "Who the hell's this guy?"

"I could ask the same of you," growled Wally, noticing the teen for the first time. "Did you guys replace me already?!"

_Speed: "Dammit, wouldn't that totally be my luck?"_

"Nah," smiled Gar, "It's just my cousin, Matt. He's visiting us for a little while."

"Sup?" shrugged Matt.

Breaking free from his mechanical friend's grip, Dick Grayson preceded to answer the other half of that question. "And the yellow guy, meanwhile, is Wally West, the fastest attitude alive. He's also popularly known as Speed, the druggie, or Emo-Boy."

_Robin: "Okay, I just made the last one up, but from now on I'm going to _try_ to make it popular."_

Already Wally had lost it. "Listen up you bast—"

"Calm yourself, Speed," commanded an unearthly voice. Everybody stopped in their tracks, as if mesmerized by the Titan known as Raven as she emerged from the shadows. "You returned today with a better attitude: do not ruin it already."

Again, Wally West wished he could blush. "O-Okay, Raven, I'll be more careful."

_Speed: "Jeez, what's wrong with me? Raven's always been a class-A jerk to me. Why did it make me feel so good when she complimented me? For that matter, why can't I remember all the times she's pissed me off? I know they've happened, but it's almost like they don't matter. God this has been _such_ a strange day!"_

"So okay, the weird yellow guy's back and everybody's happy or something," said Matt, thinking aloud. "That's all well and good and junk, but there's _girls playing volleyball _on!"

Looking back to the TV, he was crestfallen to see that the game had ended! "Ah no, wrestling?!"

"What's the matter with wrestling?" asked Cyborg.

"Dude, it's fixed," replied Gar Logan.

_Cyborg: "Jeez, not this crap again…"_

Growling slightly, Vic Stone tried to explain. "It's not _fixed_, it's _scripted._ They still have to be good enough athletes to pull all that stuff off!"

"Man, that's not why I don't like it though," finally answered Matt. "I mean, it's just a bunch of guys jumpin' around in their underwear."

_Robin: "Matt totally stole that from Batman."_

"So…um, I'm bored. What else you guys got to do?" asked Matt.

"Train?" answered Dick.

"Meditate," replied Raven.

"Dance!" exclaimed Starfire, to several groans.

With a shrug Gar answered, "Mess with Vic's stuff?" Cyborg shot an evil glare towards the changeling.

Matt sighed. "You guys're boring." Suddenly his eyes lit up. "I've got it! We're goin' _clubbing!_"

_Wonder Girl: "Great Hera, this is getting ridiculous!"_

"You comin' big guy?" asked the slacker, and the robotic "big guy" in question just shook his head.

"No thanks, man."

_Cyborg: "Those places are only good for picking up girls, and like I said earlier, girls an' me just don't mesh that well anymore…"_

Replying by shaking his head as well, Matt just said, "Suit yourself, bro. Gar, _you're_ in, right?"

Garfield Logan wasn't so sure. "I dunno cuz…isn't it illegal? I mean we're all underage."

"Pushaw," dismissed Matt as he grabbed his cousin by his tiny shoulder. "This is 'Real World' _tradition!"_

_Beast Boy: "He's got a point there. Besides, if Matt's there then it'll be fine—and it'll be _fun_!"_

"Well," stammered the green boy, "Okay I guess. Sounds good!"

"That's my cousin!" exclaimed Matt, heartily slapping the tiny Titan across his back, sending him stumbling forward.

Rushing to join up with the two teens, Dick Grayson seemed perhaps even _more_ enthused than Matt! "And you can count me in, too!"

_Robin: "Good thing I keep one of the pockets on my utility belt full of single dollar bills at all times, just in case!"_

She didn't quite know what was going on, but as ideas sprung into her head Koriand'r squealed out of pure delight.

_Starfire: "This practice of 'clubbing' seems rather…strange…but I think it will be the perfect opportunity to find out exactly what Dick thinks of me!"_

With another burst of super-enthusiastic speed the enthused alien soared to the boys' side. "Ooooooooh, I wish to come too please!"

Matt only gave her a blank stare. "Girls can't go clubbing with us!" As the Tamaranian's elation slowly dropped to confusion, sadness, and then anger, the teen just turned his gaze to Raven. "Speaking of which, are you a boy or a girl?'

"Girl," replied the empath curtly, obviously annoyed. Wonder Girl, who was already standing with her back to the proceedings and her arms crossed, looked over her shoulder towards Raven as she rattled off her advice.

"Maybe if you pulled down your hood sometimes this wouldn't keep happening to you."

Raven's reply was just a fierce glare that, honestly, spoke more than words could.

_Raven: "No. Never."_

_Speed: _ _"I like that advice! I'd actually love to see Raven without her hood—yet at the same time, the mysterious aura around her is pretty damn sexy!_

_"…What's wrong with me?!"_

"So yeah, yellow guy, you coming?" Speed looked rather taken aback to even be invited, but his surprise quickly turned to anger as he contemplated the idea.

"No freaking way," growled the speed specter. "The only reason anybody goes to those places is to pick up girls, and look at me—I don't even have a body! How could girls like me? What's the point?!"

_Robin: "Now there's the Wally we all know and love."_

_Speed: "Yet…it seems like Raven wouldn't think that way. We've never seen any of her body…I'm starting to wonder what exactly she _is_ under there…and I'm not leaving this tower until I find out!"_

As he watched the exchange, Cyborg grew sullen. Wally's attitude was far too familiar for the metal-man's tastes. Suddenly he had joined the group. "You know what? I've changed my mind. Count me in!"

_Cyborg: "Wally's reasons for not going were the same exact reasons I had, even if I didn't say them out loud. Y'know, he's always reminded me of myself right after my accident—so it's kinda scary to see that I can still be that bitter sometimes. Even if my thinking was right, I still have to go, just 'cause I _can't_ be that person anymore._

_"And hopefully now that he's come back, I can help Wally the same way everyone else helped me back then."_

"Sweet!" exclaimed Gar. The foursome moved towards the elevator, waving goodbye to those who wouldn't—or couldn't—come.

"Peace out, homie g's," smiled Matt towards the other four.

As the doors closed, Robin looked towards the slacker. "Where're we going anyway?"

"Oh," replied Matthew happily, "I've got some pretty good ideas."

_Wonder Girl: "What, you expected me to try to stop them? Believe me, I _wanted_ to, but this time I'm just going to let them go. More likely than not, their own stupidity will punish them more than I ever could."_

Frowning, Raven said, "Well, that was a colossal waste of time," as she vanished, remaining as anti-social as ever.

"Well, I guess I should go see that geek Jupiter and make sure we're still cool for me to be here," mumbled Wally as he dissolved into energy, phasing through the floor beneath him.

_Speed: "Then, it's onto Raven."_

Donna Troy too moved to get on with her life, but she was stopped in her tracks as she noticed Starfire in near tears.

"Kory?" Quickly realizing exactly what was going on, the Amazon just sighed. She had _told_ her not to let herself get hurt. "Look Kory, you can't let them get to you like that. They're idiots—they probably don't even realize how sexist they really are."

Sniffling, the alien girl just tried to comprehend what was going on. "But—but why wouldn't Dick want me there? I—I thought we had something special."

Wonder Girl was baffled at her teammate's bizarre logic. "You've known him less than a week, that's far too soon for anything seriou—"

"You are wrong!" exclaimed Koriand'r, smashing her fist against a wall. "Thinking too much only complicates it! I felt something as soon as I met him!"

_Wonder Girl: "I will never understand her line of thinking…but then again I suppose she feels the same way about us, and really, I guess I felt the same way when I came here from Themyscara. She's so sweet that I don't want to hurt her...but if she's going to learn anything here on Earth, it might as well be this."_

"Calm down, Kory," suggested Donna, resting her hand on the other girl's shoulder. "I've got an idea."

_Wonder Girl: "And not only will it hopefully help Kory see the light, but it should be a lot more fun then just letting the boys be punished by their own stupidity…"_

**ABOVE SAN FRANCISCO**

"I still do not think it is right to spy on them like this."

Starfire and Wonder Girl soared high above the city as the sun set behind them, the flaming trail Kory left in her wake blending in perfectly with the evening sky. Unfortunately for her, the alien girl's mood wasn't as pleasant.

"It is dishonest," she continued, "And that just makes it wrong!"

"Dick's not being honest with you either," countered Donna, only paying half attention as she stared into a small device in her hand.

_Wonder Girl: "It doesn't blend into Earth culture very well, but Kory's philosophies _do _have some very good points to them…it just gets old quick hearing about them constantly. Why is she away from her beloved Tamaran anyway?"_

The doohickey Donna Troy held started beeping wildly. "The Titans Communicator has tracked them to right below us." Landing atop a ritzy night-club, the two girls found themselves next to a massive skylight that provided an excellent vantage point into the club's interior.

_Wonder Girl: "How convenient!"_

However, Koriand'r was rather hesitant to look inside.

_Starfire: "Oh, this is all my fault. I did not stop to think and instead assumed things were the same here as on Tamaran. There asking Dick about his feelings would not have been necessary, but here…Do not get me wrong, I am loving my stay here on Earth, but it is making me doubt myself, leading me to things like this that I do not like doing. My gut _never_ let me down on Tamaran."_

Again the alien felt the Amazon's hand on her shoulder. "You know, you'll feel better if you just look in and see what he's up to." Donna then laughed to herself. "I mean, an attention hog like Dick shouldn't be hard to find."

With a heavy sigh Starfire finally gazed inside, and sure enough Robin stood out like a sore thumb—he was dancing, bouncing back and forth between four or five different partners, all scantily clad and probably inebriated. He pulled one random girl from the crowd and planted a passionate kiss firmly on her lips.

Koriand'r was ready to kill. "_Dick!_"

Translucent emerald energy exploded all around the alien, so powerful that it would've sent her Amazon friend flying off the roof had she not been, well, an Amazon.

_Wonder Girl: "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all…"_

The Tamaranian's eyebrows arched, her anger peaked.

"Dick, we are going to figure out just what is going on here, right now!"

Next time: They Came Through the Skylights


	7. They Came Through the Skylights

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans and most of their supporting cast were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez—the character of Matt Logan was created by Geoff Johns and Ben Raab. I owe my inspiration to those talented writers as well as to the staff of the animated series. Thank you for the great stories!

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 7: They Came Through The Skylights**

**ROLE CALL:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

**ON THE AIR—WARRIORS RESTAURANT & NIGHTCLUB, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA**

Warriors started out as a small bar owned by a retired superhero, a personal business filled with memorabilia from his glory days. The hero's former boss, a money hungry businessman, saw potential in the idea and expanded it into a global phenomenon. The simple bar exploded into a franchise of restaurants and nightclubs across the world—though its heroic memorabilia had long ago been reduced to imitations or forgeries (after all, how many used Batarangs could one find?)

It was outside of one such establishment—one of the classiest 'Warriors' at that—that stood four teenage boys, three of them members of a superhero group on a reality TV show that called themselves the Teen Titans.

"How do you think we're gonna get in a place like this?" asked Cyborg incredulously as he stared at the long line of people waiting for the bouncer's approval. The door opened sparingly as the burly man let only the cream of the crop inside—thumping bass and blinding fluorescent lights escaped through the open doorway.

Matt Logan, slacker cousin of the Teen Titan Beast Boy, just chuckled. "This place is a super hero haven, and you guys're the real deal! We're guaranteed to get in!"

_Cyborg: "Yeah, cause real heroes all go clubbing. Though, eh, I _guess _they could. Everybody needs some time off..."_

Matt marched forward, strutting as it _he_ was the superhero, until he was at the bouncer's side. The lanky boy put his hand on the bigger man's shoulder to catch his attention, not even startling him. The bouncer simply moved to rip the said hand off, until he noticed who it belonged to.

Looking Matt up and down, he decided he was too pitiful to bother with. "I'd tell ya' to get in line, but I already know yer not getting in. Don't waste yer time, small fry."

"Are you kidding?" asked Matt, not missing a beat as he gestured to the three teens standing behind him. "My friends here are real live superheroes! Of course we're getting in!"

Cyborg hung his head, hoping not to be noticed, while Beast Boy blushed. Robin, ignoring the bouncer completely, turned towards the line and smiled at the assorted raver girls waiting to get in. "Hey, ladies." They simply rolled their eyes at the acrobat.

_Robin: "They totally want me."_

Had the Teen Titans approached him on their own, the bouncer would have considered it, but with Matt leading the charge there was no way they were getting in.

"Beat it, kid," he grunted, pushing the slacker back towards his friends.

His pride more hurt than his body, Matt just shouted back, "You'll hear from my lawyers about this!"

"C'mon, you're just embarrassing yourself," said Vic as he pushed the boy away from the line. Whilst Robin stared sadly at the line before following, Gar Logan's sad sights were just set towards his cousin.

_Robin: "But how will those poor girls get their hands on me now?! I didn't even get time to leave my number!"_

_Beast Boy: "Wow. I guess Matt isn't as cool as he's pretending to be. But, like, why is he even bothering to put on the act? _I've_ always thought he was cool."_

As they shuffled towards the side of the club, Matt was still mumbling angrily. "How can they keep us out like that? They'll go out of business if they keep treating stars like this—right Gar?" Looking around, the teen noticed his cousin was nowhere in sight! "Gar?!"

"Yo, dudes!" called the changeling's voice from an open door on the side of the club. "I got us in!"

_Beast Boy: "Yeah, just another reason why being a shapeshifter is totally sweet."_

**INSIDE**

"So you turned into a rat and crawled inside under the door so we could get in?" Garfield Logan nodded in agreement, and his cousin Matt's smile grew even larger. "Dude, you're the best cousin ever! Think of all the things you can do!"

Cyborg grunted. "Since this is a public place, I don't know if this was breaking 'n entering or not, but that's not the way we should use our powers, Matt."

_Cyborg: "I mean, using their powers to break the law is what makes the bad guys the bad guys! I just hope I can be a better influence on Gar then Matt's being."_

"Spoilsport." Fortunately, the attention span of Matt Logan didn't focus on his robotic foil for too long. "Yo, Gar, let's go see if you can score me some chicks! Turn into a puppy, chicks can't resist puppies!"

_Cyborg: "Poor Gar. Does he even realize he's being used?"_

_Beast Boy: "Man, now Matt thinks he needs me to score girls? I don't mind helping him out, but sheesh, the Matt I remember was confident! I…I guess it's been a long time."_

As the boy dragged his tiny relative into the teeming crowd of people, Victor Stone collapsed backwards onto a barstool. If Gar wanted to go clubbing that badly, then he could take care of himself for a bit. As the half-robot watched the moshpit churn, girls and guys embracing, dancing and grinding, he signed a deep sigh.

_Cyborg: "I shouldn't have come here. Not yet. Not even I can get over all the crap in my life this fast."_

"What would you like, ma'am?" Out of the corner of his eye, Vic caught the bartender extending his offer to one of the most beautiful girls the teen had ever laid eyes on—robotic eyes or otherwise. She was slim and blonde, and though she dressed fashionably, she wasn't showing off enough skin to make him uncomfortable. He noticed her smile as she ordered her drink, and he nearly melted.

_Cyborg: "Yeah. Definitely wasn't ready. God, I'd give anything just to be worthy of sayin' something to her."_

Meanwhile, Dick Grayson was having much more success as he navigated his way through the pulsating crowd of people, his athletic body naturally moving with the rhythm of the music as his eyes scanned the numerous females and their…assets.

_Robin: "Now this is the life! Man, I really deserved this after all the trouble with the JLA and especially Deathstroke! I mean, the girls and the dancing and the girls…what more could anybody want?!"_

One poor guy who had done nothing but dance near Robin received a fist in his face, and as he fell to the floor his attacker grabbed his girlfriend by the arm, spinning her as he moved on down the line. He'd never been happier.

And he'd pay a steep price for his joy.

"Dick!"

An explosion of green rocked the club as tiny shards of glass rained upon the dancers. Floating just below the shattered skylight was a beautiful, orange skinned alien, her normally peaceful face twisted with anger. Blazing green energy sparked around the palm of her hands.

The eyes of Dick Grayson grew larger than saucers as he noticed his volatile teammate floating above him. "Holy s---!"

_Robin: "What'd I do to set her off?!"_

**TITANS TOWER**

The upstairs hallway of the giant T-shaped tower that served as home for the seven teenaged heroes housed all their bedrooms, seven in a row—standing outside one of those rooms was Speed, Wally West, a living phantom made of energy from the mythical Speed Force.

He was nearly invisible, the energy his consciousness resided in only flickering slightly, not even condensed into a body. He hoped to go unnoticed, for the room he was loitering outside of was not his own, but that of the mysterious empath, Raven.

_Speed: "Aunt Iris told me to give these guys a second chance, and even if I did go off on Dick, I'm still going to try my best to. Maybe not with him, cause he's a jerk, but Starfire was pretty happy to see me, for one._

_"But then there's Raven. Aunt Iris said that I had a lot in common with these guys, and while I never thought about it, I guess I do. Raven and I…there's some sort of connection there. I don't know what's going on with it, with us, yet, but dammit, I'm gonna find out."_

While Wally's biggest complaint in life was the lack of a corporeal body, occasionally it came in handy—such as now, as he effortlessly slid through the solid door closing off his secretive teammate's room. Inside, he found no windows, and hardly any furniture—in fact, the only furniture in the room were three bookshelves, all overflowing with books, scrolls and tomes. The walls were painted black, and lit candles covered the floors and bookshelves.

_Speed: "Cheerful. I feel like I'm at Hot Topic."_

"You do not belong here," uttered an eerie voice. Wally solidified, turning the Speed Force shell that he used as a body to see a bird shaped silhouette emerging from the dark walls. "Despite my having the capability to do so, I do not use my abilities to breach your privacy. I would prefer it if you did the same."

_Raven: "Of course, I have no interest in his life or the lives of any of the others—and I do not possibly see what he could find interesting about me. I strive to stay boring and lifeless. It is the only way to remain _safe_."_

Wally west just frowned. "Okay, I'm sorry I snuck in here, but how else was I supposed to talk to you? You hardly ever come out!"

"Why would you want to talk to me?" asked the empath, appearing genuinely puzzled. Then again, considering what she had done to Speed, Raven actually knew _exactly_ why he was there—so any appearances or signals she gave off were not to be trusted.

_Raven: "He must want something."_

"If you want any favors," began Raven, following up on that thought, "Then I doubt I will be of any assistance, especially if it is a new body you seek."

_Raven: "And I doubt there would be much else he would desire."_

_Speed: "Jeez, it's like she _wants_ to jump to the worst possible conclusion for everything! Then again, I guess that's what I'm talking about—who knows _what_ the hell happened to her to screw her up this bad. She may even have had a worse life than me…"_

Pushing his frustration aside, Wally wasn't ready to give up. "It's not that! I just—I just wanted to get to know you a little."

"Really now?" She didn't look convinced. "Fine, then. Ask me a question."

"Well," stammered the speed specter, "Why don't you have a bed? Don't you sleep?"

_Speed: "Dammit, that's a stupid question! I hate my stupid freaking nerves…"_

_Raven: "Surprisingly, I can sense that he is genuine. Not very surprising, however, I can sense an ulterior motive deep within him."_

"No, I do not," she began. "At night I mediate, letting both my mind and body rest, though in different ways."

"Oh," replied Wally, more than a little surprised—and slightly creeped out. "Interesting."

With a sigh Raven replied, "Not really, and I know you feel the same. Speed, I am an empath—nothing you can feel remains hidden from me."

_Speed: "So how is her creeping into my thoughts any different from me sneaking into her room?! If I wasn't so…crazy about her…I'd be ready to shoot her! But eh, I guess the jig's up. Hell, maybe she'll understand, know what's up with me…cause I sure don't."_

"Then you probably know more than I do," Wally said in a half growl. "But as far as I can tell, well…Raven, I think I just may love you."

The fierce, glowing eyes of the dark empath narrowed angrily. "That is a ludicrous statement," she said, her voice growing sterner. "You barely know me, you are not capable of loving me yet—and you never _should_ be. If you are wise, you will forget all about these feelings."

"How _can_ I?!" exclaimed the boy, confused and frustrated. "Believe me, if I could I would! I have no freaking idea why I feel this way, but I do! I thought…I just thought…maybe we had some connection, that maybe we were meant to be together! I mean, just look at us! On a team of freaks, we're still outcasts! The freakiest of freaks! I think we're _meant_ to understand each other! Who else can?!"

Floating backwards a bit, Raven was taken aback by the intensity of her teammate's emotions. "Speed I…I _cannot_ love you. Maybe you are correct in your thinking, but I cannot allow it."

_Raven: "It is too dangerous for everyone, perhaps even for the world, for me to fall in love."_

_Speed: "G--dammit, what'll it take to get this through her head?!"_

"That doesn't make any sense!" cried Wally. "What are you talking about?!"

"My abilities are intrinsically tied to my emotions," explained Raven. "I meditate, I stay distant to keep myself from feeling. The more I feel, the more dangerous I become. I…I cannot be what you want me to be."

_Raven: "And he does not know the trouble he is getting himself into."_

Clearly not buying it, Speed replied, "Then we can fight them together! Whatever bad things your powers can do, we'll be strong enough to defeat them!"

"No, we will not," stated the empath with concrete certainty. "_Nobody_ is that powerful."

Suddenly, red flashing lights and blaring sirens filled the tower. The holographic image of Mr. Jupiter appeared on the wall, shining twice as bright in contrast to the dark paint.

"Sorry to interrupt," began the fashion-impaired director, "But there's an emergency downtown."

"What?" growled Wally, obviously more annoyed at Jupiter's arrival than worried about the danger.

Shrugging, Loren Jupiter said, "I'm not sure. We simply received a danger alert triggered by the other Titans. They must already be on the scene."

"Then we will be there as fast as we can." The darkness surrounding Raven grew into the shape of a bird, then disappeared, leaving no trace of the mysterious Titan.

Wally West, meanwhile, was just left pouting.

_Speed: "Man that geek has bad timing!"_

"Well?!" asked Jupiter as he noticed his Titan just standing there. "Aren't you going?!"

"Fine," he growled as he disappeared, leaving only a fast fading trail of yellow and the sound of a sonic boom in the distance.

_Speed: "But this isn't the end of this conversation. I can't let it go this easily!"_

**WARRIORS—A FEW MINUTES EARLIER**

"Kory!"

The bronze skinned alien descended towards Dick Grayson, her intense anger aptly represented by the green energy churning around her hands like fire. Staring up at Starfire with appropriate awe or confusion, half the crowd thought they'd taken one too many hits of acid.

"Hello, Dick," she growled. "I see you are having fun."

Grinning like an idiot, Robin replied, "You bet!" Only when he saw Starfire recoil in anger did he realize his mistake.

_Robin: "Yeah, thinking about it now, that was really, really stupid."_

_Starfire: "What is wrong with him?! He treats me in a way that indicates his interest, yet he acts the same way with all these girls he does not even know! Does he not realize what he is doing?!"_

Overwhelmed with both confusion and anger, Koriand'r kept looking back and forth at the crowd before finally asking, "Do you _like_ these girls, Dick?"

_Robin: "What kind of question is that?! And what the hell does it have to do with her being so pissed at me?!"_

"Um, sure," said the confused acrobat with a shrug. "They're all pretty hot."

"And what about me?" inquired the Tamaranian.

Laughing a bit, Robin replied, "Kory, you're smoking!"

"I am?!" Starfire span around, looking for the fire on her person no doubt causing the problem. The edges of his mouth upturning into a slight smile, Dick chuckled. Wonder Girl, who had landed a few feet behind her teammates, just buried her head in her hands.

_Wonder Girl: "How embarrassing. This little idea of mine just keeps getting worse and worse. I should have handled it myself. Dick'd already have gotten it through even his thick head by now if I had."_

"No, no," corrected Dick as he waved his hands. "I meant, you're even hotter!"

"Oh," Kory blushed as she realized her mistake. "But I meant…do you like _me_ too?"

"Of course!" Robin said with a smile. "You're my teammate and a great friend!"

The beautiful alien's lip started to quiver. "Is that…all?"

_Starfire: "Could I really have been that wrong? Maybe he does not feel that way about _any_ of us…Maybe I am just a fool for thinking things worked here on Earth as they did on Tamaran._

_"Oh, Donna was right…I have just let myself get hurt."_

"Donna!" The Amazon jumped as Gar and Matt popped out of the massive crowd behind her, the two cousins even more confused by the current situation then the clubbers. "You guys decide to crash the party or something?"

"I guess," sighed Donna Troy with a shrug. "Kory wanted to talk to Dick because she was jealous of the girls, but really, they've both just misunderstood each other completely."

_Beast Boy: "Man, why do the real hot girls always go for guys like Dick? I wouldn't of broken your heart, baby!"_

Matt Logan irately pushed both Titans aside. "I don't care who likes who or any of this s---. This isn't a motherf---ing soap opera!"

Appearing between Robin and Starfire before their conversation could continue, Matt pumped his hand into the air and roared to the crowd. "Yo, I don't know about you guys, but I didn't come here to talk! I want to dance already!"

"YEAH!" shouted back the crowd.

"Pump up the volume, Mr. DJ!" Matt smiled as the lights again fell low and the bass again rattled their skulls. "Alright, let's do this!" laughed the slacker as he grabbed Koriand'r's hand and pulled her into the dancing throng.

_Beast Boy: "Now _that's_ the Matt I know!"_

_Wonder Girl: "Well, that was…dated. But I can't get mad, cause that wasn't going anywhere good. I was hoping Dick'd get humiliated out here, but Kory was just heading for worse herself. We can handle this at the Tower later."_

"Now this is the life!" exclaimed Matt as he grinded close to the alien beauty.

_Starfire: "This is certainly uncomfortable. I do not think I need to be familiar with Earth's customs to realize what this indicates…"_

Even more confused, Dick finally noticed Wonder Girl from the corner of his eye and ventured to his teammates. "What t'hell was that all about?!"

"You mean you _really_ don't get it?" Donna felt her patience growing thinner than a bulimic celebrity. "Dick, she _likes_ you. Only Zeus knows why, but she really likes you, and she mistook your constant flirting as a sign that you really liked _her_ too!"

_Robin: "Uh-oh…"_

"I _told_ her not to let herself get hurt, but she didn't listen to me! She was upset when you wouldn't take her with you, and then when she got here and saw you dancing with all those girls…"

"Yeah," interrupted Dick Grayson. "I get it. S---!"

_Wonder Girl: "I wish I knew whether he was upset because he actually _felt bad_, or if he just didn't want to get incinerated by a Starbolt."_

_Beast Boy: "Jeez, growing up is nothing but drama. I wish I could just stay a kid forever."_

_Robin: "Oh s---. Like I said, Kory is a great friend and smokin' hot, but…I never thought about her the way she's thinking about me. Heh, I was too busy thinking about Donna. God I don't wanna hurt her, but I dunno what _to_ do either…"_

Of course, he didn't have much time to ponder the situation, as right above their heads the other two skylights shattered, and nearly an entire army of bulky figures fell through all three. Each creature was about six feet tall, twice as wide as your normal human, and covered in thin, golden armor. Instead of skin they had rigid green scales, long, thick tails, and a flat face with chubby lips. Each one held some sort of staff in their hand, energy sparking from a three-pronged tip—similar to that of a trident—on the end of the weapon.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!" yelled Gar Logan as he leapt backwards, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head. "It's the 'Stony Faced Lizard People from Zylok Mach 3!' They're gonna kill us all and use our brains as beds for their kids!"

_Beast Boy: "It's true! I saw it all on TV!"_

"No," said Starfire as she instantly abandoned her dance, floating above the crowd. Her voice, and the Starbolts she was generating, drowned out the lights and sounds of the club. All eyes were on her. "They are Gordanians, carnage loving planet conquerors! If they are here it can mean only one thing! Either they wish to take over Earth, or—"

"Or we just want you, Princess Koriand'r." The gruff, labored voice came from what seemed to be the Gordanian leader, as he wore a unique headpiece, and had a jetpack attached to the back of his armor. "We've come three galaxies to find you, I even learned English just so I could greet you, Princess. Aren't you going to say hello?"

_Starfire: "Scum. He is their leader, the one who…did _horrible_ things to me. He took me from my family, used me as a slave, experimented on me!_

_"He will _pay_!"_

"Why should I say hello to you?!" the Tamaranian demanded. "You took my freedom away once—I will _not_ allow that to happen again!"

Suddenly the Gordanian and Starfire were outside, the latter having blown the former through a wall. She had the reptilian alien by his neck as she soared into the sky, leaving a flaming trial behind her. Her beautiful face had been overcome by a warlike expression of pure, unadulterated hatred.

But even as his prey further constricted his windpipe, the leader could still fight. His hand gripped his weapon, and magenta light shone from its spiked tip.

Meanwhile, the other four Titans were left with a much more serious threat—several dozen armed Gordanian soldiers! One growled in his primitive tongue and waved his cohorts forward, and the ground rumbled as they marched towards the teenage heroes.

_Beast Boy: "Man, this would be so cool if they weren't gonna try to kill us!"_

"Starfire said they're sadists," began Wonder Girl as she pressed a button on her Titans communicator, then stuffed it into her belt. "They're going to try to kill us all! We have to get the clubbers out of here before we try to take them down!"

"Easier said then done!" yelped Beast Boy as he leapt above a laser beam. "There's no way we can do that and not get fried!"

Grimacing as she reached for her lasso, Donna feared that he was right. "I set off the trouble alert back at the tower, I just hope the others are—"

"Fast enough?" The Amazon was interrupted by a yellow blur that zoomed to her side, actually grinning. "Did you forget who you're dealing with?"

_Speed: "Man, ugly green lizard creatures? Bet'cha Dick picked a fight with the wrong guy!"_

"Speed and I shall deal with the evacuations," stated Raven, appearing, as she usually does, out of nowhere besides the Titans' leader. The edges of her cloak sprang to life, enveloping several of the innocent citizens in darkness—they were teleported to their homes, without a scratch. The empath that performed this maneuver, however, staggered a bit as she did.

_Raven: "The fears of the club patrons…they paralyze me, stab me to my very soul. Not only that, but some have used substances that change their very _mind_ itself. Their emotions are…bizarre and unpredictable and they only further overwhelm my senses. Dealing with a crowd like this is not my expertise, but only Speed and I are fast enough to get them out of here soon enough to make a difference._

_"And it is in my best interest to evacuate them quickly, so I can again battle at my full potential."_

"Fantastic," smiled Donna Troy. "Titans, go!"

_Wonder Girl: "Seems like a good enough battle cry!"_

And in a blue, gold and red blur the girl wonder was off, spinning three consecutive helicopter kicks into the side of a Gordanian's head before downing him with a two-fisted punch to the back of his neck. He collapsed into the ground with barely a moment to even register he'd been defeated.

_Wonder Girl: "People think of Robin as the martial artist on this team, but _I've_ been trained by the greatest warriors of the Amazons themselves! Sure, our fighting's less about complicated technique and more about efficiency and power, but still, he can't hold a candle to my training!"_

Wally cleared a crowd of civilians surrounding a row of the alien soldiers, leaving Donna a nice, clear shot. Tying her mystical lariat around the downed alien's neck, she hurled him through his allies like he was a wrecking ball, sending them all flying through the nearest wall.

A Gordanian behind her, thinking this was his lucky break, fired several blasts of pure magenta power from his staff, but effortlessly Wonder Girl deftly deflected the beast's own attacks right back at him with her unbreakable bracelets.

Dick Grayson, however, wasn't faring quite as well. "Fine then ya bastard, let's see what you've got!" The acrobat easily somersaulted out of the way of a punch from his Gordanian opponent. Its natural power—and the fact that its biceps were practically as thick as a redwood tree—left a huge hole in the floor around its fist.

_Robin: "Yeah, that should've been my first clue that this wasn't gonna go well."_

Ducking in beneath the hefty appendage, Robin rattled off an impressive array of punches and kicks—which succeeded in nothing but bruising his hands and feet.

_Robin: "Man, punching that guy was like punching a brick wall!"_

"You seriously need some lotion, big guy," quipped the teen as he swerved beneath the alien's lumbering sideswipe. "It'll smooth your skin right up! Make it softer too—that really would've helped me back when I hit you!" Popping a blue disk into his hand, Robin tossed the device straight into the Gordanian's gut—the resulting explosion of blue sparks left it nothing but a chilled statue.

However, the acrobat's arrogance was put to an end as he received a full helping of Gordanian rage. The Titan found himself in a wall; his suit ripped and wounds bleeding as he pulled himself out of the hole his impact had created. "S---head," growled Dick as he—so angry he didn't even feel his wounds—soared above the creature and landed on its back.

With shrill screeches it reached for the nimble hero, but Robin simply attached a beeping disk to it and leapt to safety. Only a few moments later an explosion completely engulfed the lizard-like attacker, tearing its armor to shreds and leaving it unconscious. His eyes growing wide, even the acrobat himself was surprised.

_Robin: "Holy s--- those are some kickass explosives!"_

"Out of the way!" Surprisingly, Matthew Logan leapt into the air and tackled one of the bystanders, knocking her out of the path of a Gordanian death-beam. As they crashed to the floor and Matt found himself atop the beautiful girl, he could only grin. "Hey gorgeous, howzit going?"

She only rolled her eyes, but neither had any more time for the other as the massive green extraterrestrial loomed above them, screeching in octaves usually reserved for opera singers in winged helmets. The Gordanian raised his staff into the air, ready to skewer the slacker and his distressed damsel on its jagged edge—until it was knocked out of the way by a rampaging green Triceratops.

Shrinking into the tiny Beast Boy, he only had one thing to say: "Dude, get out of here!" As he made sure his cousin escaped safely, the changeling felt the floor shake behind him—he shrank into a frog and leapt above his attacker at the last possible second, leaving the Gordanian's trident jabbed into the floor, sticking like Excalibur for a moment before the mammoth monster pulled it free.

_Beast Boy: "Geez, that was close! I was almost fried frog legs!"_

Reaching the apex of his jump above his opponent's head Gar exploded in size, landing atop the creature as a titanic wooly mammoth. He had knocked it out cold, but was quickly overtaken by a barrage of shots from yet another soldier. Suddenly the extinct creature was gone—like it'd vanished into thin air—but the tiny Titan had simply become a fly, escaping the attacks long enough to change into a cheetah and charge into range.

Finally close enough to the Gordanian to attack Garfield Logan became a tiger, baring his teeth and claws as he leapt for its face. Unfortunately, he had to abandon that form for the armored shell of an armadillo as he was swatted out of the sky by his opponent's incomparable strength.

Retaking his human form as he skidded across the floor, Gar could only grimace.

_Beast Boy: "Man, why am I always the one outclassed in these fights?! Donna's really strong and Dick's got his gadgets, but no animal's gonna be as strong as these guys!...Wait a second, I got it!"_

As the idea entered his head Beast Boy grimaced, focusing his energy for the most strenuous maneuver he'd ever done. The Gordanian's staff soared for his head, but as the Titan's body expanded the weapon was only caught in his newly acquired Gordanian hands. Having imitated the alien's shape, Gar sent him soaring with a ferocious uppercut.

"Sweet," marveled Gar, the simple statement sounding ludicrous in the alien's gruff voice. He grinned a malevolent smile as his stolen staff lit up in the hands of his imitated Gordanian body. "You punks're in for it now!"

Meanwhile, Victor Stone could feel all his weapons come online as he instantly readied his half-robotic body for battle. Yet, before he could sack a single alien, he noticed a Gordanian already on the attack, standing just behind the beautiful blonde at the bar!

_Cyborg: "I knew then was the time to take action! I never expected her to be anything more then just grateful, and though I was hopeful, I knew I had no chance, even if I was savin' her—but turns out I didn't even need to worry. The little toughie can take care of herself!" _

Having heard the creature behind her, the girl swung her arm from her purse into the Gordanian's face, releasing a full can of mace. As the alien reeled in pain, she grabbed a bottle of beer in her other hand and span on the barstool, crushing the bottle aside its head.

This only served to enrage the warrior, who raised his arms to crush her flat—and was promptly driven into a wall by a half-man, half-machine! Electricity burst from Cyborg's personal security system, sending the creature into shock.

"My hero," smiled the blonde as she looked her savior up and down.

_Cyborg: "I _know_ she's not undressing me with her eyes—there's nothing more to see!"_

"Doesn't look like you _need_ a hero to me," replied the metal man, half playing along, but half serious.

Looking into her purse she found nothing, and she backed up behind Vic. "Sure I do. I'm out of mace." A huge grin spread across Victor Stone's face.

_Cyborg: "This is it Vic—it's just like high school! Just gotta impress the girl!" _

In retaliation for their friend's defeat, about five Gordanians surrounded Cyborg and his new friend, rapidly firing their lazor-staffs. The machine man just smiled as the neon blue implants in his shoulders and head lit up, and a blue shield of pure energy erected itself between the aliens and the heroes, deflecting their attacks.

The blonde gasped happily. "An energy shield?! Wow! That baby powered off your life energy, or do you have an external energy source?"

"External," began Vic with a smile, "but I've got the source shrank down to the size of a small chip so it barely eve—wait a minute, how do you know about this stuff?!"

"My brother's a science major, so I've learned a bit," she said. "Teaching major myself, though."

"Really?!"

_Cyborg: "I can't believe we're even talking! This is awesome!"_

"Um, maybe later?" Cyborg snapped back to attention as he realized she was right—this certainly wasn't the time for small talk! Pointing both his arms forward, his shield exploded towards the Gordanians as a shock wave, knocking them all off their feet. As they fell the metal-man's shoulders popped open, unleashing a flurry of missiles that targeted the group and thoroughly decimated them.

Another lunged towards the duo from the air, but Victor Stone simply pointed and launched a stream of fire from his fingertips. Lit like a tiki torch, the Gordanian fell into the arms of two more of his fellow soldiers, and all three were sent flying through a wall by the high decibel shock of the Sonic Cannon.

While the action raged on, a yellow streak zoomed towards them. "Get _off_ me!" cried the girl, squirming out of the grip of Speed.

Frustrated, Wally just growled, "Look lady, it's dangerous for you in here. I need to get you outside!"

"No way!" she objected as she walked to Cyborg's side and wrapped her arm around his waste. "I'm staying here with my hero!" The Titan's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

_Cyborg: "What?!"_

"Fine," Speed acquiesced as he sped off. "I don't have time to argue with you."

_Speed: "If I _ever_ hear him groan about being half machine again I'm going to slap him upside his stupid metal head. Even if he's a freak, he can still get the girl without even trying! God, that could never happen to me!"_

"So," smiled the metal-man, "you got a name?"

"Sarah," replied the blonde happily. "Sarah Simms."

_Cyborg: "Wow…I had a ton of ladies before my accident, but _afterwards_…this feels better than any of them. I don't know if it's just 'cause I saved her or if it's somethin' more, but at this point I don't care! I'm gonna enjoy every second of it!"_

"Well, Miss Simms," smiled Vic as he pointed his Sonic Cannon towards several more of the reptilian aliens, "Get ready to be even more impressed!"

**OUTSIDE**

Streaks of emerald and magenta filled the air, colliding and exploding and instantly being forgotten as the Tamaranian and the Gordanian clashed, neither gaining any ground against the other. Starfire's Starbolts and the general's blasts from his staff both kept each other well out of range.

_Starfire: "As the war between our people grew more fierce, and neither side would give an inch, I was kidnapped one night by Gordanian forces. I was taken right from my bedroom, and still nobody knows how they got past our security!"_

Her rage boiling, Koriand'r strafed besides a sparking streak and lopped off her own attack. Her opponent wasn't quite as maneuverable and couldn't counter attack in time, and was sent soaring by the alien's attack.

_Starfire: "They tried to used me to get a surrender from my family, but their plan backfired. So instead they used me as a test subject, tortured me…and finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I escaped. A part of me hoped to never again have to see their faces, but at the same time another side of me demanded vengeance. I will enjoy destroying this scum!"_

Taking advantage of the Gordanian General's carelessness Kory zoomed forward, gaining an amazing amount of distance in only a few seconds. Her opponent's jetpack roared as he flipped towards her, firing off several more blasts of his own.

"Come on Princess, don't tell me you didn't miss me," he taunted in his slow English. "_I_ certainly have—more then your family _ever_ did! They wouldn't even negotiate to get you back!"

A Starbolt exploded from Starfire's entire body, enveloping her and destroying all attacks that came her way. As it dissipated she pointed her hand forward and fired off several dozen rapid-fire attacks, like a machine gun. The Gordanian responded, desperately trying to fend off the tiny Starbolts, but as he did so a green streak zoomed through his staff, shattering the weapon.

Yet again an orange skinned hand gripped the monster's throat, but this time it was filled with emerald energy, burning his neck.

"I would not expect anything less of my family," growled the Tamaranian princess. "They could not surrender the freedom of the entire planet just for my own!"

A powerful beam from the hand digging into his scaly neck sent the General tumbling into his own ship, and as he landed another Starbolt formed in Koriand'r's hand, condensing into a small ball of translucent energy. Tossing it casually towards the General, it exploded on contact, destroying much of the ship's wing.

Starfire floated down low, not yet ready to believe he was dead—and indeed he wasn't. However, the Gordanian was extremely battered. His armor was in shreds, and his scales chipped, scarred, or falling off his body. His hand, however, was looming over a large button that had been hidden under a hatch on the side of his spacecraft, and this only made him smile.

"You haven't won yet…Princess," growled the General. "Attack me again and I'll make this entire ship explode—and take out everybody in the city!

Gasping, Kory floated backwards. Tears rolled down her cheek.

_Starfire: "He deserves to die, this much is certain. But…the people of this city do not. My _friends_ do not. I cannot sacrifice their lives to take his—even if it means sacrificing my _freedom_ instead."_

However, before she could make her fateful decision, a blade of sparking energy, a deep purple hue, appeared out of nowhere and sliced through the general's neck. He didn't even have time to press the button. As both pieces of his body collapsed, a figure leapt from the top of the ship and landed next to him, the same energy sparking in the figure's hands.

"I just saved your life, little sister," stated the figure in a calm, relaxed voice. "Aren't you going to say thank you?"

However, Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran, the Teen Titan known as Starfire, was too shocked to do anything. How did _she_ get here?

"You?!"

**INSIDE**

The brittle Speed Force shell that Wally West used as a body was far too weak to do any damage to the Gordanians—but that certainly didn't mean he couldn't fight them! The last bystander had been cleared, and now the golden specter zoomed between several, hitting Mach 1 at the same moment and sending the group soaring with a sonic boom.

_Speed: "Man, it's tough trying to think of ways to fight when not having a body screws me up _again_. It'd be so much easier with my body…I wouldn't have to be doin' this superhero crap at all."_

Meanwhile, the dark empath Raven reached out with her mind and possessed an underground water main, causing it to burst through the club floor, the pressure from the water alone scattering Gordanians like bowling pins.

However, things weren't quite as good as they seemed. Wonder Girl swiped aside the barbed tips of her opponent's staff with her bracelet, then grabbed the weapon and cracked it over its owner's head. As the reptilian alien fell, though, Donna's face filled with fear as she noticed another row of Gordanians marching towards her, their armor already pierced, and their faces already mangled—but still they marched on anyway, steadfast in their devotion to destruction.

"Hera!" exclaimed the Amazon, her gasp piercing through the chaos and drawing the attention of her teammates. "Titans, they're getting back up! The ones we defeated are getting back up!"

"Yeah, I noticed," growled Cyborg as he blasted an alien with the concussive cannon in his chest, Sarah peeking from behind his back. "An' I don't see how we're gonna get them to stay down! I think I'm starting to agree with Starry on this one!"

_Cyborg: "I mean, would aliens even count as killing?"_

"No!" protested Donna Troy as she grabbed two Gordanians by their heads and slammed them together like cymbals. "We don't kill—_heroes_ don't kill!"

_Wonder Girl: "And despite any evidence to the contrary, we _are_ heroes!"_

"Fortunately, I don't really have any problems with killing them." As soon as the suave, feminine voice uttered the words purple beams rained down like comets. Perfectly accurate, none of the Titans were even singed as death from above obliterated the Gordanian forces.

As the smoke cleared, the Teen Titans were left with the smoking remains of the nightclub, the ceiling cracked, the walls full of holes, and the floor had enough craters to be mistaken for the surface of the moon. Not a single Gordanian remained. In the middle of this chaos landed a single figure, a tall, thin girl with jet black hair that fell past her waist.

Like Starfire her skin was orange, but her eyes were entirely purple instead of green. She was slightly shorter than Koriand'r, and her black and purple uniform was slightly less revealing, though, considering how it was just as tight, that was rather pointless. Smoke still sizzled from her palms, and she didn't even to try to hide the fact that she was behind the destruction.

_Beast Boy: "Oh no! Kory's gone Super Saiyan!"_

"What…what did you do to them?" asked Wonder Girl as she scanned the warzone.

"Killed them, of course," replied the girl casually. "Nothing less can stop a Gordanian, at least not for long. They're tenacious little bastards—not like they deserve anything better."

_Cyborg: "I thought of killin' them as a last resort, but whoever this girl is, I don't like how casual her attitude about it is. Not at all."_

_Wonder Girl: "I'm…torn on this matter, I suppose. I was raised an Amazonian, and though we try to remain peaceful, our society was forged by war and killing. We regret it, but we are certainly prepared for it as well. But I was born a human, and though death is a natural and all too common part of our lives, killing is frowned upon. It's for _bad guys._ And as a super-hero, killing is _forbidden.

_"Sometimes having my heritage is a real pain. That's why I want to know where I come from so badly. Maybe then I can decide where I truly belong as well. But for now, I will act as I know I have to. As a hero, as the leader of this team and under my contract, I cannot let her actions pass!"_

"Who _are_ you?" inquired Donna as she reached for her lasso, readying herself to take down this threat if necessary.

"Princess Komand'r of Tamaran, or course," she replied casually, as if it was common knowledge. Starfire, meanwhile, hovered down to her side.

"She is my sister," added Koriand'r. And suddenly she was latched around her sister, hugging her so hard that she could have snapped—if she didn't have the same Tamaranian fortitude as her sister. "Oh, it is so great to see you! I thought we would never again meet!"

_Starfire: "Komand'r is the first member of my family I have seen since I was kidnapped! But if she is here, with the Gordanians…oh no!"_

"Did they capture you too?!" Koriand'r exclaimed, acting on her thought. "What does this mean for Tamaran?! Tell me, sister! It has been so long since I have heard of the goingons of our homeworld!!"

Komand'r cast a sad glance her sister's way. "When the Gordanians saw we weren't going to surrender, they got desperate, and kidnapped me as well. Mother and Father became quite worried after the loss of _both _their daughters and finally broke under their demands. But in order to meet our parents demands, they had to have you as well."

"That explains why you and the Gordanians came here," said Starfire, thinking aloud, "As well as what Hawkgirl was saying about Tamaran back when we met."

_Starfire: "Of course, this still does not explain why the Gordanians resorted to kidnapping, either with myself or with Komand'r. It was never a tactic they employed on any other planet, so why _us_?"_

"Of course, they weren't expecting me to escape," smiled Komand'r. "Foolish on their part."

"Indeed," agreed her sister, before remembering the rest of her teammates still staring at the siblings. "Oh, friends! I am sorry! I was so excited to again see my big sister, I forgot you were there! Please, forgive her slaughter of the Gordanians! She is not yet used to your Earth customs!"

_Speed: "As if you are?"_

Wonder Girl frowned. "I can forgive it, if Mr. Jupiter can. We'll talk to him a bit, Komand'r, and see if you can stay with us—"

"Stay?!" asked Starfire incredulously. "No chance, Donna! My reasons to stay here are…waning," she said sadly, looking towards a blushing Robin, "While with my sister and a working spacecraft, I have every reason to return home and help defeat the Gordanian threat once and for all!"

_Robin: "Dammit, I was hoping all this s--- had distracted her from…us. Ah, what am I gonna' do about us now?!"_

Of course, as the Tamaranian spoke several different parts of the battered alien ship fell into the decimated club, shattering on impact. "Wow," marveled Beast Boy, "Yeah, I don't think that's going to work out all that well for ya'."

"Then I believe I'll take you up on your hospitality," said Komand'r as she walked towards the Titans. Then, taking a look around, she wondered, "So, who takes care of this mess?"

_Cyborg: "That's what _I've_ been wondering all along!"_

As the metal Titan pondered the question, he felt tugging on his arm. Sarah was trying to get his attention. "Y'know, I understand if you have to get going, but—"

"Don't worry about it," said Vic with a sigh, knowing he didn't have a chance. "You don't have to pay me back. I was just doin' my job…"

"Don't be silly, metal man," she smiled as she forcefully pushed a card into his hand. Written on it was her name and phone number.

_Cyborg: "What the hell?!"_

"I'm free Wednesday night, at seven," she told him, closing his robotic hand around the card. "Call me and I'll give you directions to my house. Got it, sexy?"

Tripping over his own words, Victor Stone managed to stutter an, "Okay!"

_Cyborg: "BOOYAH!"_

**TITANS TOWER—LATER THAT NIGHT**

"So that's how I became champion of the Okaaran Tournament," Komand'r said as the other Titans were gathered around her in the living room. "Though my little sister didn't put in a _bad_ showing at second place, of course, but she never _could_ beat me in battle."

_Raven: "This Komand'r certainly is…vain. While Robin thinks highly of himself, for sure, she thinks highly of herself and nothing else. There is a difference there. I am not sure of her motives here, but she has a suspicious aura around her."_

_Starfire: "Of course, I never cared about defeating my sister the way she did me. You see, unlike all other Tamaranians, Komand'r was born without the ability to harness the sun's power to fly, and she has felt the need to…compensate…ever since. I do not see why. Our family has not thought of her any differently because of her disability!"_

"So," asked Dick Grayson, "Are you guys really princesses? It seems kinda important, but Kory never mentioned it."

Komand'r, enjoying the attention, smiled. "Of course!"

"It just never seemed important to _me_," Kory explained.

_Starfire: "Indeed, while my sister loves being royalty, I have never really seen the point. It does not make us any better than anybody else, right?!"_

Suddenly Donna's phone blipped, and opening it, she saw a text message that made her whole face light up.

_Wonder Girl: "Yes! After a day like today, I really needed some good news!"_

"Okay guys!" she announced, standing up. "Kyle just texted me. The Martian Manhunter's finally back from space, so the two of them should be by sometime tomorrow to try and figure out the deal with our fight."

"Oh yeah," mused Beast Boy, who was sitting cross legged on the floor next to his cousin. "I forgot about that!" Looking over, the green kid noticed that Matt was just drooling, totally spaced out from the rest of the conversation. "Yo Matt, you okay?!"

"Boobs…alien…hot…"

_Beast Boy: "Well, I think he likes Komand'r!"_

"Anyway, we _all_ remember what happened _last_ time we met the Justice League," Donna continued with a sigh. "We all need to be on our best behavior, okay? And we need to be ready early tomorrow, get this tower clean and stuff. So, it's definitely time for us to head to bed."

"What are you," growled Wally, "Our mom?"

Crossing her arms and frowning towards the speed specter, she replied, "No, but I _am_ leader of this team, Wally." 

"Just do as she says Speed," suggested Raven as she started to teleport to her room. "Neither of you will budge, so you might as well be the better man."

Frowning even harder, Wally just ran to his room.

_Speed: "God Raven, why do you always have to be so right?!"_

"Come, sister," Starfire said, "I shall show you to your guest room!"

Looking on, Cyborg just smiled. "Man, it's a good thing we got all those spare rooms! If we keep up with the house guests like this, we'll need 'em!"

**OFF THE AIR—KOMAND'R'S GUEST ROOM**

Though it took all the effort she could muster, the black haired Tamaranian finally ousted her enthusiastic little sister from her room. Collapsing backwards onto her plush bed, Komand'r's only thoughts were of how much she _loathed_ her.

Fortunately for her, everything had worked out fine so far. She was always better at _everything_ than Kory, and this was especially true of acting. Kory always thought it was no different than lying and thus could never grasp the concept, but Komand'r thrived on acting, on not letting people see the real her—until it was too late. And so far, she was playing these Titans like the measly little pawns they were.

Suddenly a picture came to life on the wall, displaying the face of one Mr. Loren Jupiter, director of _The Real World: Titans Tower._

"Why, Princess Komand'r," he smiled maliciously, "What a pleasure to finally meet you! The Gordanians told me _so_ much about you."

"I wish I could say the same," began Komand'r, "but those worthless fools neglected to tell me _anything_ about you." She frowned at the thought of them. "It took me far too long to track my sister here."

"Now now Princess, no hard feelings," Jupiter cooed. Suddenly a chute opened from the wall. "That will bring you to my office—I just want to talk about what exactly it is you _want _here."

Smiling she moved towards it, but then turned her head back, looking over her shoulder. "I have no problem with coming down to speak to you, Mr. Jupiter, but I can tell you what I want right now:

"I just want to make my worthless little sister's life _miserable."_

Next time: Chase!


	8. Chase!

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. Those characters and any others appearing in this story belong to DC Comics, not me (Though I've put my own personal spin on a lot of them, of course). So no, I'm not making any money off them. Put down the phone. The FBI doesn't care.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 8: Chase!**

**ROLE CALL:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

**OFF THE AIR—LOREN JUPITER'S OFFICE, SAN FRANSCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA**

Princess Komand'r of Tamaran, older sister of the Teen Titan Koriand'r—Starfire—took orders from no one. She was _royalty_, and in her mind she was better than everybody else—especially her spoiled, kiss-up of a sister. Starfire had everything handed to her on a golden platter, yet she always acted so sweet and naïve and innocent about all of it. Komand'r snarled in disgust as she remembered their childhood. She knew it had to be an act, and it turned her stomach.

The brat even had the birthright—the right to one day become ruler of Tamaran— just handed to her, just because she could fly while Komand'r could not. To hell with Tamaran's laws, she thought—that just wasn't fair! That was the day she realized how much she despised her sister, her parents, and everybody on that miserable planet. It was the day she decided she was going to make Koriand'r's life as miserable as she had made Komand'r's.

And she did, without her sister even realizing she was behind it, but eventually Starfire got away from her. It took the vengeful princess months, but she had finally tracked her to Earth. Now only one obstacle stood in her way—Mr. Loren Jupiter, the director of _The Real World: Titans Tower,_ a reality TV show of which Kory was a cast member. Fortunately, she knew he posed no threat.

"Nice transportation tubes," Komand'r observed, looking towards the tunnel that had brought her here from her guest room in the tower. "You have to do this often, I assume?"

"Not really," replied Jupiter, "But you never know when an emergency can come up."

Komand'r chuckled condescendingly. "I'm rather surprised you were even expecting the possibility of murderous houseguests, but then again, I suppose that if you're buying your cast from alien space traders, nothing should be too surprising."

"I don't make it a practice," replied the director calmly. "You know, I don't care if you make Starfire's life miserable, as you said you planned—but you do realize, I'm not going to let you kill her, no matter how much you may hate her. I _need_ my Titans far too much for that."

Again the dark-haired alien laughed, amused by this human's perceptions of what she wanted. "You don't have to worry, I don't want Koriand'r dead. What I have in store for her is _far_ worse. But, still—I doubt a worthless _bug_ like yourself could ever stop me if I felt like it." She leaned over his desk, calmly moving her face towards his. "So don't think you have the power to tell me what to do."

Jupiter smiled and moved his hands up slowly in a sign of non-aggression. He didn't want to make her angry if he needn't—her plan sounded like too much entertainment value for him to lose out on it. Still, her threats didn't trouble him in the slightest. With Mr. Jupiter's resources and connections, she was about as worrisome as a fly.

"Whatever you say, princess," he replied, the corner of his mouth turned up in a half smile. "But you'd be surprised what a bug like myself could do if I wanted to."

**ON THE AIR—TITANS TOWER, ROBIN'S ROOM, THREE AM**

Dick Grayson rolled back and forth in his bed, his sheets a mangled, tangled mess. His crime-fighting gadgets, which once had completely covered his floor like grass would a lawn, had finally been pushed into several large piles across the room—if only out of necessity. As the acrobat tossed again, smiling even in sleep as he no doubt dreamt of topless cheerleaders or the like, his window slowly crept open.

In an instant a dark figure pulled itself through, landing without making a sound. Visible only as a shadow in the pitch-black room, the figure was slim, and seemed to be wearing a cape. It had two very tall pointy ears atop its head. Surveying the room, the figure shook its head in disgust at its appearance before heading for Robin's bed.

Moving noiselessly, it loomed over the sleeping teen for only a second before poking him in the arm. Then, as that produced no results, he was poked several more times in succession.

"Stop it!" Robin yelled, bolting upright and smacking the gloved hand away from his arm. It took a few seconds for the teen's mind to register that a person was standing over his bed, and as soon as it clicked he jumped several feet in fright and landed beside it. Quickly flipping the light switch, he was greeted by the sight of a shapely female, covered from head to toe in leather.

"Hot damn," smiled the boy.

_Robin: "Wow, I was dreamin' bout something like this, and here we go, as soon as I wake up, there she is!"_

The leather was actually a costume, every inch of it black. A cowl covered her head, with two pointed ears like Batman's, only at least twice the length. Where the mouthpiece would be in his there was more leather instead, sewn into place—the eyes of the cowl were black as well. A utility belt rested across her hips, the pockets unusually large, hanging far below the belt itself. A bat insignia was emblazoned across her chest, the outline yellow and the inside black.

Dick Grayson continued to smile. "Bat_girl_?" She nodded, her name being one of the few words she actually understood. Born as Cassandra Cain, the daughter of two of the world's deadliest assassins, Batgirl had been isolated from speech and writing all her life, allowing the language section of her brain to instead learn to interpret body language the way normal people can words.

At a young age her father assigned Cassandra her first kill—with childlike enthusiasm she fulfilled her mission, not even realizing what she had done until her body-reading skills saw the life draining from her target's body. Traumatized, she vowed never to kill again and fled from her father, wandering until found by the crippled hacker wizard Barbara Gordon—aka Oracle, a partner of the vigilante Batman.

From there, she became the Batman's first partner to follow him onto the streets. As Batgirl, Cassandra used her body-reading skills to determine her opponent's next moves and flawlessly evade their attacks and beat them into submission. Her proficiency at the martial arts even outclassed the Batman himself.

So although Robin spoke aloud none of the sexual fantasies that ran rampant through his mind, Batgirl could almost see them as clear as day just by interpreting his movements. It made her uncomfortable, but she remembered what Batman had told her—although crude and unrefined as of now, Dick Grayson had…how did he phrase it? _Potential._

_Robin: "Okay, so kinky bondage-bat showing up was cool and all, but since she's connected with that dick Batman I'm sure there's gotta be some stupid test involved with this."_

"What are you _doing_ here?" he asked, glancing towards his alarm clock. "Believe me, I've got no problem with you coming around, but it's three f---ing AM!" He paused for a second as he brushed his hand through his hair. "I mean, you're missing out on my peak hotness showing up here before noon!"

Cassandra sighed, but her annoyance at his arrogance quickly disappeared as she realized she needed a way to tell him that Batman wished to see him—after all, with her unusual language skills, she barely knew a dozen words! Getting an idea, Batgirl pointed towards the bat emblem on her costume.

"Breasts?" asked Dick, noticing the logo's location.

_Robin: "I mean, c'mon, it's always about boobs."_

Shaking her head, she again pointed. "Oh…Batman?" Finally receiving the answer she wanted, Batgirl nodded eagerly and then pointed towards Robin. "Me?" Again she replied with an affirmative nod, and this time she pointed towards her eyes. "Eyes?" Cassandra shook her head no, prompting Dick to venture, "Um, see?"

Watching as his leather-clad guest nodded enthusiastically, Robin thought for a second aloud. "Batman…you…see…or is it me…" Suddenly his eyes grew wide as he came to a—sadly, false—realization. "Batman sees me?!"

Dick rushed to his open window, sticking his head out. "Does that mean he's watching me? Where's the bastard?!"

_Robin: "I just _knew_ he was a sicko! Nobody who acts like he does is normal!"_

Batgirl buried her face in her palm, realizing she needed another plan. Glancing through his disheveled room, she noticed Dick's naked-lady alarm clock—certainly nobody could blame her for choosing _that_ of all things. The silent girl pulled its plug from the wall and walked to Robin, tapping him on his back.

"Huh?" As Dick turned away from the open window, Cassandra tossed his clock through it, smiling widely beneath her cowl. "No! Not my hot, naked clock!" Acting on his first impulse, he leapt face first out the window after it!

_Robin: "Yeah, I must be listening to Kory too much. All this 'oh, act on your first instinct, it's _always_ right' crap's got me out a window without my utility belt! Hell, I don't even have any clothes on 'sides my boxers!"_

Fortunately for Dick, Batgirl wasn't going to let him die. Following a loud boom, a rope wrapped around the acrobat, stopping his fall before he even got a few feet below the window. Following the line, Robin saw it attached to a silver, bat-shaped glider Batgirl was riding over the San Franscisco bay, approaching the city itself at break-neck speeds.

"Let me down!" the bound Titan cried, but Cassandra just replied by holding one finger in the air, telling him to wait a minute. Sure enough, a minute later he was freed—a Batarang effortlessly cut through the rope, and Robin landed on his back atop a tall building. The glider hovered low next to him, and Batgirl leapt off, barely even landing before swiping her arm behind her back to intercept a punch.

Spinning, she knocked Robin aside, and as he skidded to a stop he yelled, "What the hell are you doing?" Cassandra had no quick gesture to answer his query, but fortunately Dick didn't have the patience to wait for it anyway.

_Robin: "The chick may be all hot and kinky, but I think she's got a screw loose or something! Well, she is a Bat…figures."_

Dick Grayson took to the air, his acrobatic skills coming forth in full force as he leapt, ducked and span, lashing out with strikes, punches and kicks from every direction, as he'd done when he'd finally managed to tag Batman. However, Batgirl moved even faster, like black lightning—knowing where each attack would land because of her body-reading, she effortlessly slapped aside anything Robin could possibly throw at her.

_Robin: "Man I wish I had my utility belt—then this'd be cake! Jeez, it's like she's a hot ninja robot or something!"_

Finally reading an opening Batgirl's arm thrusted forward, her open palm colliding with Dick's jaw and sending the boy flying backwards, blood dripping from his open mouth. Regaining his composure in mid-air, he somersaulted twice and landed in a crouching position, with one hand slapping the ground. He was ready for more, but was only greeted with a deep voice that definitely didn't belong to his opponent.

"Enough!"

And suddenly a blue, sizzling blast overtook the rooftop.

**TRANSMISSION FROM ROBIN LOST—OFF THE AIR**

It took a second for Dick to regain his bearings, but as they slowly returned, the Titan was pleased to notice that he wasn't dead! Opening his eyes, he saw another figure standing besides Batgirl, broader and taller but with the same ominous silhouette.

"Batman," growled the acrobat. "You couldn't just sneak into my room and save me all this humiliation?"

"I could have," the dark vigilante said, his voice as harsh as ever, "If I'd wished to be seen. That was an EMP blast you just witnessed—it disabled the 'camera halo' Jupiter has filming you at all times." Shaking his head in amazement, he continued. "Of course, they'll repair themselves quickly—and I don't know _where_ MTV got advanced nanotech like that—but they should be out long enough for us to have a little chat."

Robin's eyes bugged. "You have your lackey break into my room and drag me half way across the city, and you expect me to talk to you?"

"Of course," Batman replied, not doubting his answer in the slightest. "You're not doing this for _me_, after all…"

Not giving Dick Grayson time to ponder the meaning of that statement, a third figure emerged from behind the two bats. The boy was about a foot shorter than Dick, and wearing a very similar costume. The cape was shorter, and lacking the scallions at the end—the sleeves were short instead of long, and they, his leggings, gloves, and mask were all green instead of black or red like his. However, it was definitely a Robin uniform, as the large 'R' on the right of his chest could attest. Dick especially noticed that, although seemingly in peak physical condition, the boy didn't have the natural athletic figure he and the bats did.

"Real original," Robin growled. "Shouldn't I have a copyright on this or something?"

"I'm a big fan," the smaller Robin said with a smile and a shrug. "I wanted the Robin name to be an official part of Batman's team."

"Robin here is an extremely talented detective," interjected Batman. "He has the potential to be better than _me._ He even figured out my secret identity."

Dick grinned. "Nice. Care to share?"

The dark knight wasn't amused. "No secret identities. You're filmed far too much for that to be safe. Even the boy will just be 'Robin' to you."

"Well, that'll be confusing."

"Yeah," the smaller Robin said apologetically. "Didn't think of that when I chose the name."

Clearing his throat, Batman returned to the topic at hand. "Unfortunately, he _doesn't_ have the same physical aptitude."

Bending his arm to show off his biceps, the boy smiled. "I'm getting there, but it takes a lot more work for me than for Batman."

"Let me guess," ventured Dick, who—despite how he sometimes acted—wasn't a fool. "You want me to train him in acrobatics?"

"Fighting crime takes a lot of my time," Batman said as explanation. "I wish I could train him fully myself, but you're more than qualified for the job." Trying to hide a grin, the vigilante added, "Perhaps some of his detective training will rub off on you."

Of course! The pieces clicked together in Dick's head. "I see, this is just a part of that bullshit you're always giving me about not living up to my potential!"

As always, Batman refused to dignify Dick's statement with a response. "Are you in or not?"

His eyes wide, the tiny detective pleaded. "Please?"

Dick couldn't resist a fan. "Fine," conceded the acrobat. Maybe it'll be fun, he told himself. Plus, as big of a jerk as Batman was, Dick figured it couldn't hurt to learn some new skills. After all, Bats was right about at least _one_ thing—his potential was _unlimited_.

"Good," Batman replied, taking a step backwards. This prompted his two partners to do the same. "Robin will be by in a few days for his first lesson."

"Thanks!" the younger Robin exclaimed happily. "I'll see you then!"

Even Batgirl waved goodbye, cocking her head to the side, but as she did so her other hand dropped several metallic spheres to the ground. Smoke erupted from them, quickly overtaking the rooftop.

Robin coughed, but as the cloud cleared, he was enraged to see the three crime-fighters gone! "Dammit!" he cried into the air. He didn't have his utility belt, a phone or a communicator, and with his camera halo offline even Jupiter couldn't track him! Looking over the roof's edge, he quickly realized he couldn't get down _that_ way.

"Dammit Batman you asshole!" he cried again into the night sky, but knowing the dark knight as he did, he didn't wait for an answer. Dropping onto his butt glumly, Dick rested his chin in his palms and sighed. "Y'know, of all the things I need up here, I wish I had some clothes the most."

**ON THE AIR—LOREN JUPITER'S OFFICE, WAITING ROOM**

Outside the personal office of the dubious Mr. Loren Jupiter sat his skilled secretary, Lilith Clay. The beautiful redhead leaned over her cluttered desk, tapping the tip of her pencil against some papers before hurriedly scribbling down some notes. Her employer was a busy man, and in the end Lilith was often the one who dealt with his paperwork and, as of late, she'd also been covering the ramifications of his clandestine deals.

The waiting room she worked in was tiny, with only three or four chairs—which was fine with Jupiter, as he didn't want the dangerous criminals he worked with in there long anyway. With a sigh Lilith shut her book around the classified papers, leaning back in her chair as she pondered her lot in life. This entire show had her worried. How far would Jupiter go to ensure its success? How far would she allow _herself_ to go before she lost all her morality?

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Lilith snapped out of her trance and saw standing on the other side of her desk, the Amazon and Teen Titan, Wonder Girl. "Mr. Jupiter asked to see me?"

"Yes, yes he did," the secretary said. Without Donna noticing, she flipped a switch beneath the desk—in response, a silent alarm came to life in Jupiter's office, alerting him of the Titan's arrival. This gave him a few moments to hide anything that might need hiding before she entered. "He's expecting you," she continued with a smile.

"Thanks," replied Donna cheerfully as she opened the office door.

_Wonder Girl: "So just after breakfast I got an alert from Jupiter asking me to fly downtown to his office to see him. I have no idea what's going on, but it must be serious if he wants to see me in person!"_

"Miss Troy!" Jupiter greeted his Titan with open arms, sitting at an immaculate desk. He'd been staring straight at the door, making eye-contact the second she'd opened it. Donna raised an eyebrow, but quickly glossed over the creepiness of the entire situation. After all, Jupiter had _always_ seemed a little off. "Come on, sit down, make yourself at home!"

Wonder Girl pulled over a chair, but she certainly didn't make herself at home. This was essentially her boss, and she had to look as professional as possible! "So, what's the big situation?" she asked, trying to hide her immense curiosity. "I mean, this has to be serious!"

"Not really," Jupiter said with a shrug as he tossed the adopted Amazon a small manila envelope. "Inside that envelope are official papers. You'll need them to get Robin out of jail—if I weren't so busy I'd get him myself, but…"

_Wonder Girl: "Dick's in jail?! Sadly, I'm not surprised, but it's still not something I thought I'd ever hear!"_

Stunned, Donna could only sit there for a second before asking, "What?!"

"The police called here not long ago," the director explained. "They said they found a teenage boy wandering the streets in his underwear. When they arrested him, he claimed he was Robin!"

The girl snickered, but quickly contained her amusement. "And I'm sure it _is_, knowing Dick," she said as she got to her feet. "Well, I'd better get over there before he picks a fight with the some big guy named Bubba…"

"Hold on," called Jupiter. "Before you go, I was wondering how your hunt for your parents was going?"

Donna grimaced. "It's not, right now," she said, quickly looking for an appropriate response. "I appreciate your concern, but I've been so busy helping the others train I just haven't had time."

_Wonder Girl: "Of course, the honest answer would be that I really don't think the others would be any help at all to me, but I don't want to hurt Jupiter's feelings. He assured me when I joined up that my teammates could help me find my parents, but it's not his fault they're all such…rookies."_

"Of course," nodded Jupiter. "Well, I hope that changes for you soon."

"Me too," said the girl wonder sadly as she walked back into the waiting room.

However, before she could dwell any further, she was greeted by an enthusiastic voice. "Hey, you're Wonder Girl!"

The voice came from a young man, maybe nineteen, twenty years old at the most. He wore neatly pressed slacks and a polo collared shirt—his red hair was gelled in a failed effort to tame its curls. A few scruffy red whiskers dotted his chin, no doubt a weak attempt at growing a goatee. Ms. Clay held onto his arm, endeavoring to restrain the boy lest his enthusiasm get the best of him.

_Wonder Girl: "Wow, what a typical prep! I wonder if he's rich or just pretending to be…and Hera, that goatee—if it can even be _called_ that! He'd better wait till he's a little manlier until he tries to grow one of those…_

_"Heh, manly. Now _there's_ a word you'd have never heard on Themyscara."_

Lilith blushed. "I'm sorry Ms. Troy, he's—"

"Don't worry about it," Donna said with a slight smile. Turning to the young man, she asked, "You a fan?"

"You bet!" he exclaimed, extending his hand. "The name's Terry! Terry Long!"

_Wonder Girl: "Please don't be the same sort of perverted 'fan' Dick is, please!"_

"Terry works with the editors here on the show," Lilith interjected. With a playful smirk she added, "He's our 'gofer.'"

Chuckling in embarrassment, Terry quickly chimed in. "Only because I'm putting myself through college." Shrugging, he said, "I'm a history major, though I have no idea what in the world I'll _do_ with that after I graduate."

"I see," Donna said quickly, glancing towards the door. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Terry, but I must be going…"

The young Titan prayed the gofer would take her hint, but as she saw him clench his fists and quickly swallow the lump in his throat, she knew that wasn't the case.

_Wonder Girl: "Great Zeus, what could he possibly be planning? It won't be subtle, I'll guarantee that."_

"How about lunch sometime, then?!" The words ran together as they trailed out of the nervous boy's mouth. "I know this _wonderful_ café a few blocks—"

"Um," Wonder Girl interjected, "You do realize I already have a boyfriend, right?"

_Wonder Girl: "And while Terry may be sorta cute in his own little dorky way, he's no Kyle Rayner!"_

"Oh," Terry said sadly, hanging his head sadly for a second. However, he perked right back up as inspiration struck. "Can I at least give you my number?!"

Donna sighed. "Fine. I suppose that couldn't hurt."

_Wonder Girl: "I mean, it's not like I'll ever call it, and it'll get him off my back at least."_

However, as Lilith Clay watched Terry Long scramble to find a pen and paper, she just shook her head—her thoughts were the complete opposite of Donna Troy's. On a show like this, situations like these _never_ turned out well.

**TITANS TOWER—BEAST BOY'S ROOM**

"Dude, wake _up_!"

Matt Logan, slacker cousin of the animal shapeshifter Beast Boy, was awaken abruptly by a shove to his chest. Coming to in the bottom tier of a disheveled bunk bed, he noticed his green relative prodding him. "Dude, it's like twelve thirty! We've missed breakfast and everything!"

"Eh," shrugged Matt as he tried to bury his head in his pillow, "My midnight snack held me over fine."

_Beast Boy: "Yeah, 24 courses of dessert tend to do that."_

"Yeah, well Donna complains enough about your eating already," Garfield said with a sigh as he pulled his cousin off of his bed. The older boy landed on the equally cluttered floor with a thud. "We don't need her complaining 'bout your sleeping too."

Despite having just fallen off a bed, Matt chuckled. "Just like a girl to put down what a guy loves the most, right cuz?"

"I…guess so."

_Beast Boy: "Though Kory doesn't seem to be that way…Just Donna. I dunno if you can say they're all like that…it's not all true."_

Pulling himself from the floor groggily, it took Matthew a few minutes to notice the music playing in the background. As the catchy piano tune rolled through his ears, the teen thought it sounded vaguely familiar. "Yo, what're you playing?"

"Ben Folds Five," Gar said, stopping in his tracks and turning towards his cousin. "Dude, you _gave_ me this CD."

_Beast Boy: "It was his going away gift to me the day my family and I left for the trip to Africa. Dad hated it cause of all the cussing—I guess Matt's parents just never noticed—but after he an' Mom died it was, like, one of the only things I had to remind me of my family!"_

"Oh," Matt replied. He'd been _wondering_ what had happened to that CD—he'd totally forgotten ever giving it to Gar! And then, after a week of frantically looking for it, he'd forgotten he'd even missed it…until now, of course—and he'd love to have it back. "Hey Gar, y'know…"

"What?" answered his cousin, until he was distracted only a second later by the start of a new song. "Dude, it's '_The Battle of Who Could Care Less'_! This song's, like, pretty much about you, Matt!" The changeling began a dorky little dance, poking his arms back and forth. "This always makes me remember all the cool crap we did when we were kids."

Matt hesitantly smiled. "Yeah, it's great." He'd really wanted that album back, but it meant so _much_ to Gar. More than it _ever_ did to Matt. He couldn't hurt his cousin like that—no way. So instead, he changed the subject. "C'mon cuz, let's go get some lunch. I'm freaking starving!"

Beast Boy just raised an eyebrow. "Jeez, how can you still be hungry?!" Matt just shrugged and laughed as the door slid open before him. "Seriously! Dude, get back here! I gotta know your secret!"

**LIVING ROOM**

"Aw come _on_! That ain't fair!" An X-Box controller dangled limply in the robotic hands of the despondent Victor Stone. "How did _you_ get this good at video games?!"

The half-robot's opponent smiled. "They're very similar to the battle simulations on Ryglar 7," Komand'r said smugly. "I always defeated everybody on those too."

_Cyborg: "Did you gloat about it to all of them, too?"_

"It is okay, Vic. You fought valiantly," comforted Starfire. "And big sister, you too did an excellent job."

"Why _thank_ you, little sister," the older Tamaranian replied. "Would you like to challenge me next?"

Koriand'r took a step back. "Um, no thank you."

_Starfire: "Unlike Komand'r I have never _been_ to Ryglar 7…in fact I have never traveled beyond my home planet—at least I had not until I came to Earth. And since I arrived here I have had…little time to learn how to play these games. I suppose I was distracted by my feelings for Dick. Oh well, now I shall have _plenty_ of time for playing games."_

"Oh, but of course," Komand'r said with a condescending chuckle. "Wouldn't want you humiliating yourself."

Suddenly Cyborg felt himself being pulled out of his seat by a pair of furry green arms. Leaping into the air, the gorilla responsible for this shrunk into a young boy in a purple and black costume. "I'm next, then!" exclaimed Beast Boy as he landed perfectly, the controller falling into his hands ready to go.

"I call winner!" exclaimed the tiny Titan's cousin as he again leapt over the back of the couch, lying on his stomach with his feet dangling in the air.

_Starfire: "If human anatomy is anything like that of Tamaranians, then that cannot be good for his posture!"_

Smiling as a competitive spark came to life in her eye, Komand'r taunted, "Bring it on!" The misplaced Cyborg, meanwhile, inched towards the kitchen, watching the game with one eye while watching where he was going with the other. Leaning against the wall besides the kitchen door was Wally West, a bitter Titan composed solely of speed energy.

"Man she's a b----," growled Speed as his teammate came close.

"Komand'r?" Receiving a nod from his disgruntled teammate, Vic thought for a second. "I guess she gloats a lot and stuff, but she's not any worse than Donna."

Wally laughed. "Yeah, but she's a b---- too."

_Cyborg: "Humph. Acting like that, he don't have much room to talk."_

"I thought you were giving us second chances?" asked Victor.

"Komand'r's still on her first," said Speed, "And Donna doesn't _deserve_ a second chance."

Cyborg sighed. "I don't think that's the point of second chances…"

Gaining the upper hand over her green opponent, Komand'r cackled in glee. "Jeez," growled Wally, "How can her and Kory even be sisters?"

_Speed: "I mean, Kory is sweet and humble, almost the exact opposite of Komand'r! Kory was the only one happy to see me come back to the team!"_

Shrugging, Vic countered, "Well, how can Gar and Matt be cousins?"

Wally started to smile slightly. "True, I'll give you that one, but Matt's hardly as bad as Komand'r. I'll take his stupidity over her arrogance any day."

Vic wasn't so sure. "Yeah, but she's not corrupting anybody."

_Cyborg: "All Matt's doing is dragging Gar into bad situations he shouldn't have to deal with yet. Matt doesn't care about Gar, he's just _using_ him!"_

"And growing up with Komand'r didn't corrupt Kory," Speed countered. Cyborg grumbled a bit and started to turn away from his teammate, eliciting a small chuckle from the speed specter. "You really don't like Matt, do you?"

Sighing, Victor stopped in his tracks as his electronic eye started to glow blue, recalling evidence he'd found earlier.

_Cyborg: "I was hopin' to wait till Donna got back to show her this, but Wally seems good 'nuff to bounce this off of as anybody…even if he agrees with me he'll play Devil's Advocate anyway."_

"Something about Matt's story just wasn't addin' up to me," the machine-man began, "So I did some digging into his records. Turns out Matt hasn't paid his rent in two months—his landlord tossed most of his junk out onto the street last month and he never even came by to pick it up!"

"So you think Matt's using Gar for a place to stay?" Wally stroked his chin. "I dunno man, that just doesn't sound right. I didn't think the guy was smart enough for anything like that."

Cyborg grunted. "It makes perfect sense to me," he said sternly, crossing his arms. "Just have to figure out how to let Gar in on it."

_Cyborg: "It ain't gonna be easy to break the poor kid's heart like that. Back when I just thought Matt was an inconvenience to the rest of us I wasn't gonna, but now I _have_ to…"_

"Don't," growled Wally, finally pushing himself off of the wall and turning to face his half-metal teammate. "Even if it's true he's not going to believe you anyway. You should stay out of his business."

"But what kind of friend am I if I don't try to help him?"

_Cyborg: "I mean, that's why I joined up for this show in the first place: to help people! What's the point if I can't help out my best friend?"_

Speed wasn't satisfied with this line of reasoning. "Well what kind of friend are you if you go snooping in his business like that just 'cause you don't like his cousin?" Wishing for the fifty trillionth time he had his human body—this time so he could spit in disgust—he continued, "Stop trying to be everybody's mother, Vic."

_Speed: "Having one mom's bad enough. _Definitely_ don't need another."_

"Awwwwwwww _man_!" Beast Boy's controller fell to the floor, the green boy too downhearted to maintain his grip. "No _way_! You had to cheat!"

_Beast Boy: "I can't believe I lost to a girl! Matt'll never let me hear the end of it!"_

"Dude," Matt snickered as he pushed his cousin aside, "I can't believe you lost to a girl."

_Beast Boy: "Told ya…"_

Smirking, Komand'r inquired, "So, you think you can do better, little man?"

"You bet," smiled Matt as he licked his lips and gripped the controller tight. "I'm the highest ranked player for this game on all of X-Box Live!"

"Really?" Gar asked excitedly.

Grumbling, Matt replied, "Okay, second, but I _swear_ that Supernova guy is doing something weird to be able to play as much as he does."

As the two set their preferences and pressed 'start', the door to the room flew open. Wonder Girl marched in angrily, followed by Robin clothed only in his underwear.

"I _swear _Dick, if you ever touch me like that again I'll beat you senseless!"

"C'mon Donna, it's not like I had many places to hold on to!" Unable to help himself, the acrobat chuckled. "Besides, that's not your style anyway."

_Wonder Girl: "I should have tied him up with my lasso and drug him behind me."_

"Dick!" exclaimed Starfire, rushing to Robin's side. "I am glad to see that yo—"

Suddenly she stopped in mid-sentence, her face flushed as she realized what she was doing.

_Starfire: "Oh, how can I still have feelings for him? He will only hurt me again! I cannot open myself up to that sort of humiliation!"_

"It is good to see you are unharmed," said the Tamaranian softly as she stormed off into the kitchen.

"Duuuude," marveled Garfield as he approached the others, "She's _pissed!_"

With a sigh Dick muttered sarcastically, "Yeah, thanks Gar. I didn't notice that."

_Robin: "I can't believe I hurt her that bad! I mean, what kind of planet can Tamaran be if people don't flirt?! Jeez, I'm really going to have to do something to make this up to her…I can't let such a sweet little hottie be upset, after all!"_

The arrival of the two Titans and the attention they drew left Matt and Komand'r alone, out of earshot. It was the perfect time for Komand'r to make her move. She'd been one-upping her little sister and putting down her little sister ever since she'd arrived, but it was time for the final act. All her life she'd taken everything Koriand'r ever loved. She wasn't going to stop now!

"Tell me, Matt," the Tamaranian said deviously, not missing a beat on the game, "Has my little sister found anybody _special _on this planet yet?"

"You mean like a boyfriend?" asked the slacker. Already gears were starting to turn in his head.

"Exactly!" she exclaimed, her smile broadening across her entire face. "Has she?"

"Yeah," said Matt slowly, thinking for a second, but only a second before he made up his mind and continued. "You're talkin' to him!"

Inside his head Matt Logan was laughing hysterically. If he could pull this off, then it would be the greatest prank in the history of pranks!

Komand'r, meanwhile, just raised an eyebrow. She was stunned. Her little sister would go after a boy like _this_?! However, as she thought about it, it all started to make sense. Despite everything she'd ever done to Starfire, she never noticed his devious her big sister really was—she was likely oblivious to this boy's stupidity as well. Plus, she _was_ dancing with him when she first looked through the skylight before ordering the Gordanians to attack back at Warriors!

Fine then, she thought. This just made her plan even easier.

"Man, Gar was right!" Matt said, nearly crying as his loss popped up on screen. "You really are cheating!"

"No," began Komand'r as she slowly walked in front of the boy. "But I suppose I _did_ distract you." Leaning down so her cleavage was in the horndog's face, she took his hand and pulled him to his feet. "Let me make it up to you."

Nearly drooling, Matt somehow managed to stutter out a, "Y-you bet!" as she dragged him, unnoticed, out of the room.

Their antics, meanwhile, we're unnoticed because the other Titans were far too busy interrogating Robin.

"You know," began Donna, "You never _did_ tell me what happened anyway."

_Robin: "Well yeah, I _was_ trying to get out of that."_

"Fine," the acrobat began as he buried his face in his palm. "Batgirl snuck into my room, no doubt to get my autograph or something, and when I chased her out Batman ambushed me, tricked me into training a little look-alike, and left me on a roof by myself."

"Sure," laughed Beast Boy, "Good job trying to cover it up, but to me it sounds like you got beat by a girl!"

_Beast Boy: "Of course, so did I, but this totally distracts everybody else from that."_

"Yeah, and I really don't care," growled Speed. "Listen up, circus boy. Before you tell any more stories, you need to put on some freaking pants!"

**A LITTLE LATER**

Victor Stone's stare was more resolutely glued to the television screen than it ever had been before.

_Cyborg: "These things have always just been a hobby, but if I'm ever gonna beat Komand'r then I'd better lay off my tech for a few days and practice up a bit!"_

"Can't that wait, Vic?" Donna Troy tapped the Titan on the shoulder, and as he paused the game and looked back at her she handed him a broom. "Kyle and J'onn are going to be here in less than an hour and—thanks to Dick—I've already wasted the entire morning! We need to clean fast!"

Laughing, Robin—now fully clothed in his costume—asked, "What, the great Kyle Rayner's never seen any dirt before?"

_Robin: "If he even notices this place is dirty, then he's an even bigger loser than I thought!"_

_Wonder Girl: "Hera, does Dick know how to push my buttons…"_

"Look, just because I take a little _pride_ in my surroundings doesn't give you the right to laugh at me," grumbled the Amazon as she shoved a mop into his hands. "Help out for once."

_Wonder Girl: "All I want is for everything to be perfect for my boyfriend. Is that too much to ask?"_

Emerging from the kitchen, Starfire grabbed the vacuum from besides Donna. "I will gladly help you," the alien said with a sweet smile. "If we do not take care of the tower then it could become uninhabitable!"

_Starfire: "Wow, these…vacuums…remind me of the 'Arkphances' back home on Tamaran! Except, we used them to transport luggage, not dirt!"_

Suddenly a door slid open, and the four Titans were greeted by Gar's loud cry. "Yo, has anybody seen Matt around? He's not in the kitchen _or_ my room!"

_Beast Boy: "And where _else_ would he be?"_

"Come to think of it," mused Koriand'r, "I have not seen my big sister in quite some time either."

"Could they be together?" asked Vic, though after thinking for a second he shook his head. "Nah."

However, the Titans had no further time to ponder the answer to this question as black exploded in the middle of the living room, growing into a large bird-shaped creature of darkness before disappearing entirely, leaving just Raven, hunched over as if in intense pain!

"Raven!" cried Wally. The speed specter had been hiding in his immaterial form, trying to avoid Wonder Girl's chores like the plague, but he couldn't stand by as the girl he loved was in pain! Dashing forward, the energy that formed his 'body' hardened into a solid shell, and he caught Raven before she hit the ground.

_Speed: "Dammit Raven, you can't let anything happen to you! Not when I love you! Not until you return my feelings! You just can't!"_

"Raven, are you okay?! Speak to me!" Pushing her way from her suitor's arms, the girl started to come to her senses.

"I am…fine, Speed," she began. "I am simply…overwhelmed."

_Raven: "As an empath, the pains, joys, fears, the very emotions of others become mine to feel as well. The emotions I am now feeling are intense, almost _primal_. I cannot even determine what they are they are so overwhelming, so painful! I have never experienced anything like it."_

Rushing to their teammate's side, the Titans were confused. "Overwhelming?" asked Donna. "Nothing that intense was going on in here!"

"Apparently not," continued the empath. "The emotions I feel are so intense I cannot even determine whether they are overwhelmingly joyful or painful, or even where they come from. Since people are most often here in the living room I assumed I would find answers here, but since they are not…"

Needing no more information, Gar's eyes grew big. "Matt!"

Starfire had the same response. "Komand'r!"

"I'm on it!" exclaimed Speed as he dashed down the hallway.

_Speed: "Okay, Gar said they weren't in his room so they must be in Komand'r's guest room. The sooner I take care of this, the sooner Raven stops hurting!"_

Almost instantly Wally was at her door, and as he pressed the button to open it he discovered it was locked. Fortunately, this wasn't a problem for him as golden energy wafted from his hand and into the control panel, adding speed until the panel's machinery could no longer keep up. As the panel exploded the doors slid open, but Wally West definitely wasn't prepared for what he found behind them. "_Christ!_"

The other Titans were right behind him, and they were just as shocked. Even the supposedly emotionless Raven was taken aback, her eyes wide.

_Raven: "Yes, I suppose that _would _be overwhelming enough to be what I felt…"_

"Hera!"

"Damn!"

"Big sister, what's going on here?!"

His jaw dropped, Garfield Logan had nothing to say but, "Matt?!"

Matt lay flat on his back on Komand'r's bed, with the alien laying overtop of him. Mangled sheets covered them both, though the alien's legs dangled down the side of the bed and past the sheets' reach. "What does it look like we're doing?" Komand'r asked as she looked at the Titans slyly. Matt, meanwhile, had a look of pure joy and rapture on his face.

"Check it out, cuz!" he exclaimed.

"Holy f---ing s---!" Dick gasped. "Matt got laid!"

Next time: Relative Chaos!

OOC: Hope you guys enjoyed it! Sorry if it was a bit self-indulgent at times, I admit that I only included Batgirl because I'm a fan, but Gar's CD is something that's going to come back up eventually, and I didn't just choose the particular band because _I_ like them (though I do highly recommend Ben Folds Five ;-) ), but because they're definitely a band Gar would like too. Well, until next time, when the Komand'r storyline draws to a close!


	9. Relative Chaos!

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. I owe my inspiration to them as well as the myriads of other talented writers who've worked with the Titans—in comics, animation or otherwise—over the years. Thank you. Also, all the Titans and related characters are owned by DC Comics, and I use them without their permission. I just have mine

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 9: Relative Chaos!**

**ROLE CALL:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

**ON THE AIR—KOMAND'R'S GUEST ROOM, TITANS TOWER, SAN FRANSCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA**

Princess Komand'r of Tamaran lay overtop a tiny Earthling. Though they had just shared a most intimate activity, her thoughts were about as far removed from the boy as possible. Her glance was cast towards her younger sister, the Teen Titan Starfire, Komand'r's hated enemy. She wanted to see the pain in the girl's eyes as she watched her sleep with her boyfriend, as she took away the love she had found here on this new world. It was what Komand'r _lived_ for.

However, the Tamaranian wasn't quite going to get the reaction she hoped for—for the boy in actuality was _not_ Starfire's boyfriend! Matt Logan was euphoric, wrapped up in the emotions of the moment, in the amazement that a girl like this had gone for him! So fixated was he that he totally forgot his lie was just that—a lie, a prank, just some fun. Then again, the slacker had no reason to suspect that _that_ was why Komand'r had suddenly come onto him!

Her eyes shot down at Matt again for only a brief second before she said, "I'm sorry, little sister, it's just—"

"Oh, there is no reason to apologize!" exclaimed Koriand'r, her eyes open wide and her mouth spread open in a full, joyous smile. "It is wonderful that you have found love with Matt! I am so happy for you!"

_Starfire: "I _do_ wish that I would have had the same luck with Dick…but that does not take away from my joy for my sister!"_

Komand'r raised one slender eyebrow in utter confusion, but with seven teenaged superheroes watching them, didn't have much time to try to understand why her sister wasn't _devastated._ Robin brazenly wandered forward, extending his open palm. "Dude, Matt, seriously. High five!"

"Do you mind?!" The Tamaranian topper both blushed and fumed—both turning her face steaming red—as she retreated further beneath the sheets.

_Wonder Girl: "It's Dick. Of course he doesn't!"_

_Robin: "S---! Lost a perfectly good chance to glimpse some boobies! Damn, these are the kinda regrets you live with till your dying day!"_

Garfield Logan, green shapeshifting cousin of the "layee", was still a bit too shocked to say much of anything. He just stood, slightly limp, his jaw agape. Cyborg, standing with his arms crossed to the boy's side, looked over at him, both angry and yet pitying him.

_Beast Boy: "Man, it took me a bit to really get what just happened, but once I did, well, wow! I always knew Matt was a pimp!"_

_Cyborg: "I always knew Matt was a bad influence. This seals it. As soon as the JLA heads outta here, I gotta do something about this!"_

"Well, this was far less drastic than my empathy led me to believe," Raven said dryly as she turned for the door. "If anybody _else_ wishes to have sex in the tower, they would be wise to let me know first, lest this happen again."

_Raven: "After all, it is not as if I cannot keep a _secret_."_

As the dark empath floated briskly down the hallway, Wonder Girl grabbed Dick and pulled him towards the door, waving the others out behind her. "C'mon guys, let them be. We've got more important things to tend to!"

_Wonder Girl: "I will never understand how in Zeus's name those two ended up together, but even a couple like that deserves their privacy. Besides, the last thing I needed was Kyle and J'onn showing up while we were all still in there and tracking us down…the sooner I got everybody out of there, the better!"_

As she ushered out the last of her teammates and let the door close behind her, Donna Troy noticed Robin lingering around behind her. "What is it, Dick?" she asked glumly, having by now realized it was best just to get whatever he wanted out of the way as fast as possible.

"Well," began Dick hesitantly, "Look, I know I really hurt Kory, so you don't have to tell me I screwed up. I…I just want to know how to make it up to her. I don't like her being pissed at me and I don't like her always being sad."

_Robin: "She's just too cute to be sad!"_

_Wonder Girl: "I don't want to help him, I really don't. As thickheaded as he is, he doesn't deserve it. But, I'm going to anyway—for Kory. He doesn't deserve the help, but she _does_ deserve the peace."_

"Just apologize, Dick," Donna said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Tell her you're an idiot and that you're sorry for acting like such a jerk to her."

"Yeah," replied Dick Grayson, "Guess that'll work."

_Robin: "Or not—last time I take advice from a girl. Jeez, I thought they knew all about this s---! It's not that I wasn't a jerk—I was—and even someone as awesome as me can be an idiot every once'n a while, believe it or not. But Kory deserves more than just an apology._

_"After all, she really is sweet. Hell, she even likes Wally! Plus she's hot—and, well, s---, what more is there to like? When she first asked me how I felt, she took me off guard, but now that I've been able to think about it…well, I think I finally know!"_

Meanwhile, Raven floated down the hallway, her body slouched forward as if she was staring at the floor, trying to keep everyone and everything away. If this was her intent, it wasn't working—a being made totally of energy was zooming towards her, calling out for her to stop. "Raven! _Raven!_" Wally West skidded to a stop besides the cloaked Titan. "Raven, why are you running off so fast?"

_Raven: "I knew I should have just teleported."_

"What do you want, Speed?"

Now that he was face to face with his forbidden love, Wally started to lose his nerve. "I just wanted to know, I mean, is sex really that overwhelming to you? You seemed to think something dangerous was going on!"

_Speed: "And definitely not in the way that it actually _is_ dangerous."_

The empath sighed heavily. "Sex is a function with a _plethora_ of extreme emotional repercussions, Speed. To an empath, picking up on all those without the context, yes, it is nearly _crippling._"

_Raven: "Speed's romantic feelings towards me, and the constant fishing for questions it entails, are growing rather annoying. Perhaps I need to try a different method for handling his queries."_

"Wow," marveled the speed specter. "I bet it'd be pretty hard for you to have sex at all, then, wouldn't it?"

"Speed," growled Raven, her voice nearly inhuman, "That is a very personal question."

_Speed: "Well duh. Everything's a secret with her! That's why I keep asking questions, but I guess she hasn't taken that hint yet!"_

"I'm sorry, Raven," Wally stuttered, his voice equal parts anger and sadness. "It's just that I l—"

Darkness leaping from her cloak, the girl curtly replied, "I know: You love me." Black exploded into a birdlike silhouette before disappearing entirely, leaving Wally West with just one more word: "Stop."

_Speed: "Jeez, I really am the biggest loser here, aren't I? I mean, a machine like Cyborg can score a hottie like Sarah Simms, and _Matt_ hooked up with _Komand'r_ of all people, but the girl of my dreams will barely talk to me!_

_"I really do hate my life."_

However, Matt Logan wasn't doing nearly as well as Wally thought. His partner was still disappointed, crestfallen even, at her little sister's reaction. Komand'r had let this wretched boy _inside_ her just to devastate Starfire, yet she didn't even bat an eye. Worse, she said she was _happy_ for her!

"Komand'r, m'love," Matt said, doing a terrible impression of a British accent as he grabbed the alien's shoulders, "I'm ready for more!"

The Tamaranian's stomach started to hurt—something was up, and she had to figure out what before she made any more mistakes! "Matt, dearest," she began, pausing only for a second to collect her thoughts. She knew Matt wouldn't take no for an answer—but to an idiot, a thinly veiled 'no' easily looks like a 'yes'. "This room is boring. Why don't we find someplace more…exciting to have our fun?"

**A LITTLE LATER—STARFIRE'S ROOM**

The beautiful alien floated across the floor of her brightly colored room, sweeping across the walls and furniture with a feather duster—she only stirred up clouds of dust, though Starfire seemed oblivious to this.

_Starfire: "This certainly seems an odd way to clean, but it is how I have seen it done on television, so no doubt it is the correct way, no?"_

Princess Koriand'r's room was painted a muted shade of pink—a circular bed was the centerpiece, and a couch and two small bookshelves lined the walls. A few books and photographs filled the shelf space, but none of them belonged to the orange-skinned beauty—everything she had was left behind when the Gordanians kidnapped her.

_Starfire: "It has been difficult, restarting my life on this new world. Everything I ever had I lost that night I was ripped away from home—then again, however, I long ago learned that happiness does not come from objects. Somehow, whatever I had I seemed to lose anyway. My playthings often disappeared or broke when I was not around, and even my pet Tauranik, Yeppi, did not have a long life._

_"So I had to learn to be content with what I had. I learned to find the best in people, and discovered that their happiness brought me happiness as well. And that, I believe, is the secret to finding contentment no matter where one is!" _

As Kory lifted a picture frame to dust underneath, she heard several quick raps at the door. "Come in!" she called happily, not even caring who it was—at least until the door slid open and she saw Robin standing on the other side. "Oh, it is you." Starfire barely gave him a glance before turning her attention back to her dusting. "Why do you wish to see me?"

_Robin: "Ouch. I've never seen Kory be such an ice queen! Good thing I'm an expert at warming girls up…"_

"Look Kory," he began, not wasting a second, "I'm sorry. I dunno how things got so screwed up, but I'm sorry it happened. I never had any intentions to lead you along or hurt you, and I'd really like to make it up to ya'."

Koriand'r looked over her shoulder at Dick, as if mulling over it for a second, before giving him a small "humph" and returning to her cleaning.

"C'mon, you know you wanna!" Sighing, Robin played his trump card—he ducked into the hallway for a split second and returned with a large brown basket with the edges of a white and red checkered cloth sticking out the sides. "I even made us a picnic lunch! We can go out to the beach, eat a little, watch the tide come in…"

_Robin: "Okay, I didn't _make_ the lunch, but Kory hasn't been on Earth long enough to tell the difference anyway—and _everybody_ loves some KFC…almost as much as all the girls love picnics on the beach! That cutie down in Florida sure fell for it…_

_"Not that I'm trying to trick Kory! But I'm just sayin', it never fails!"_

Finally looking up as his tangent came to an end, Dick noticed Starfire had finally put down the feather duster. She was standing still, lost in thought, trying to figure out what to do.

_Starfire: "Thinking about it, my mind is giving me numerous reasons not to go with Dick. I keep hearing Donna's voice in my head, telling me not to let myself get hurt. However, my gut tells me to give him a chance. After all, he did come here to apologize. I want to believe him—so I am going to. My instinct will be correct."_

Slowly Princess Koriand'r turned back towards the anxious Dick Grayson, and as he saw the smile spread across her face, he couldn't help but smile in turn. "That sounds wonderful, Dick."

_Robin: "God she's beautiful when she smiles."_

As soon as the two stepped into the hallway they were greeted by a lanky green boy falling from the ceiling. "Is that a picnic basket? Can I come?!"

"Don't scare people like that, Gar!" Dick yelled—he then blushed and tried to play off his nervous reaction. "What are you doing here?"

"I was hiding from Donna and her cleaning," Beast Boy said. "Even Wonder Girl would have a pretty hard time finding a green spider in a Tower this big—Vic or Raven could I guess, but Vic at least doesn't have the heart!"

_Beast Boy: "That Vic—he never stops caring. Heck, sometimes he cares too much!"_

"Well," Kory began, "I suppose it would not hurt if you ca—"

Not giving her a chance to finish, Dick grabbed the younger Titan by his shoulder and led him off. "Be back in a sec, Kory," he called over his shoulder before leaning down to talk to Gar face to face. "C'mon man, I just want this to be Kory and me, if you catch my drift…"

Gar's expression drooped. "Yeah, I get it…I'm just lonely…"

_Robin: "Jeez, talk about being the ultimate little brother. Dammit Dick, don't fall into his guilt trip!"_

_Beast Boy: "I mean, Matt's off doing the nasty with Komand'r, Vic's been on the phone with Sarah for the last hour, and now Dick's running off too! I guess I can really see what everybody thinks of me…"_

"I'm sure," Dick said with a sigh. "Look man, I really need to take care of this right now, just me 'n her. I promise, we'll hang out sometime soon. We cool?"

Garfield Logan looked doubtful, but regardless of his feelings replied with, "Yeah, we're cool."

_Beast Boy: "We'll see—people just don't seem to be able to keep their promises to me, for whatever reason. I got used to crap like this a long time ago…"_

"So," asked Starfire—slipping her slender orange arm around Robin's as they resumed their walk towards the exit, "How are we going to get to the beach?"

"Actually, I was kinda counting on you flying us there!"

**LIVING ROOM**

Victor Stone, the machine man known as Cyborg, sat on the Teen Titans' long couch, leaning back with his arms sprawled out to the side, his head cocked backwards, resting against the top of the sofa as his mind pondered the day's events.

_Cyborg: "It'd been nice to turn on the TV and distract myself from Matt, I suppose, but Donna was already bringing the JLA up, and I'm sure she'd of killed me if they walked in and everything wasn't perfect!"_

Despite Wonder Girl's summoning of the entire team, so far only Vic had arrived in the living room. Suddenly a yellow blur added itself to the equation, and the phantom made of energy from the mythical source of all motion, Speed, skidded to a stop besides the metal-man.

"Why does she want us all lined up like this?" asked Wally as he grinded the solidified energy that represented his 'teeth'. "Are we going to do some stupid song and dance number for them, like the 'Sound of Music' or something?"

"Can you stop complaining, for once?" grunted Cyborg, not bothering to even look towards his bitter teammate. "I've got enough t'worry 'bout."

_Cyborg: "Out of character for me? Yeah—give me a break! I'm not allowed to be cranky sometimes?!"_

Crossing his arms and cocking his head, Wally looked down at Vic for a second before laughing. "You're still all worked up about Matt, aren't you?"

_Speed: "Honestly, you'd think he'd be tired of wasting his energy worrying about idiots. I know I am."_

"Of course I am," sighed Victor as he slumped forward and finally faced Wally. "I mean, I guess, eh—just, tell me, what do _you_ think about him an' Komand'r?"

Wally shrugged. "It's kinda icky, and I definitely don't want to think about them, but I'm not surprised."

_Speed: "Girls always go for the vapid, moronic guys, after all. Usually they're more muscle-bound, but still, girls' lack of judgment in guys never surprises me. Sickens, depresses, yeah, but I'm never surprised."_

"Then I guess you just don't understand," said Vic with yet another deep sigh. "Gar practically worships his cousin. I'm not going to let him follow his example and screw his life up!"

_Speed: "He really wants to help, doesn't he? Stupid—people don't want help."_

"Okay!" Before the conversation could continue, Wonder Girl entered the room, walking backwards as she showed off the living room to her two guests. "Here's our living room, and my team!"

"Pretty nice digs," smiled Kyle Rayner, the young artist and intergalactic peace keeper—and boyfriend of Donna—known as the Green Lantern. "Like the TV!"

Following Kyle was a larger, more imposing figure. His skin was green and his Neanderthal like forehead sloped over his orange eyes. He wore a long turquoise cloak and gloves, boots and briefs of the same hue. Red straps crossed his chest, creating an X-shaped pattern.

_Wonder Girl: "That's J'onn J'onnz, the Martian Manhunter! When an alien invasion threatened the entire Earth, it was J'onn who first telepathically summoned the founding members of the Justice League! Now, he's just kind of like the League's spine—it's hard to imagine it even being able to exist without him!"_

_Cyborg: "Wow! Now Martian Manhunter, _that's _a superhero! I've read all up on his files! Guy's got almost as much strength as Superman, plus the flight, but he can also shapeshift or become goo-like to survive being ripped apart, he can change his density to become as hard as rock or light enough to move through solid objects, plus he's probably the most powerful telepath on Earth!_

_"I'm glad he's on _our_ side."_

"The tower is very impressive," J'onn said as he looked around.

Donna beamed. "Thanks!"

_Speed: "What's with her? She's acting like she actually had something to do with building or designing the place!"_

"Sorry I am late." Appearing—as she usually did—out of nowhere, Raven was now standing behind the members of the Justice League. Nodding first towards Kyle, then to J'onn, she said, "Lantern, Martian Manhunter, it is good to see you."

_Raven: "I sense within the Martian Manhunter a deep, lingering sadness, a tremendous sense of _loss_. Considering he is the last of his species, I suppose this is no surprise. He is an outsider to this world, and I can tell he has some mistrust and disgust for humans. Yet, at the same time, he has been able to maintain a firm wall of hope that they can make this world a better place._

_"I wish _I _could have faith like that."_

"Likewise, Raven," returned the Manhunter. Though he maintained his stoic stance, Kyle took a step backwards, unsure what to think of the empath.

_Raven: "They do not trust me—and I do not need to be an empath to tell that. For once, I cannot blame them."_

"How is Zatanna?" she asked, trying to allay their concerns by showing concern herself.

"She's fine," grunted the Green Lantern, "No thanks to you."

_Speed: "Oh yeah, I forgot about her messing up the magician like that. I wonder what she did to jack her up that badly? Guess that's another question to add to my list."_

"However," added J'onn, "Her mind contained no traces of the manipulation. It is as if it never even happened." Despite having a heart bigger than the average Leaguer's, J'onn J'onnz always sounded grim—but now his deep baritone took on an even grimmer tone, and everybody knew he meant business. "It is imperative that we find out if the same is true with all of you."

_Wonder Girl: "Right down to business—that's J'onn. And I respect that. But it was hard enough to finally get Kyle here in the first place—I really need some time with him alone!"_

"Well," stammered Donna, "I really wanted to give Kyle a tour of the Tower. Can you look at the others first?" The Manhunter nodded, and Donna Troy's grin filled her entire face. "Great, I'll try to find the stragglers too!"

_Wonder Girl: "Dick and Gar I'd expect this from, but I'd never have thought Kory wouldn't show up! I hope she's okay!"_

As Donna eagerly pulled her boyfriend into a hallway, J'onn turned towards the other Titans. "So, who will be the first?" Raven was unresponsive, and Wally took a step backwards.

_Speed: "I _really_ don't like the idea of him screwing around in my head!"_

"There is no reason to worry," he continued. "I will not access your personal memories, only search for traces of mental influence occurring during your confrontation with the League." The Titans still didn't budge, until finally Vic Stone sighed.

"I'll do it," said Cyborg as he walked over to the Martian.

_Cyborg: "This _is_ kinda creepy, but maybe if I go first I can inspire the others. Worth a try!"_

"Thank you," said J'onn J'onnz as he moved behind Cyborg. He put his hands around the Titans head, and tilted his own backwards. His orange eyes started to glow as his powerful mind telepathically explored Victor Stone's.

"Let us see what se can find."

**AN UPSTAIRS HALLWAY **

"Jeez, how long are we gonna do this?" Matt Logan was being pulled down one of Titan Tower's less used hallways by his lover, the beautiful alien Komand'r. "Just what t'hell are we looking for anyway?"

Sighing, Komand'r's regret over ever sleeping with the fool deepened and deepened. She was told he was her little sister's boyfriend, and had sex with him in hopes of finally crushing Starfire's spirit. Yet, the Titan was unfazed, and she needed to know _why_ before she made another move!

"We're looking for Koriand'r," said the Tamaranian, annoyed by the constant questions. "How can you not remember that? This is the seventh time you've asked!"

"But you said we were going to look for a new place to f---!" whined Matt.

Purple energy started to come to life in Komand'r's eyes, and it took every ounce of her restraint not to reduce the teen to cinders right then and there. "We will, I promise you that. First, however, I need to find my sister!"

"Yo, Matt! Komand'r!" Suddenly a green tiger leapt out of nowhere, knocking the spindly slacker over and licking the back of his neck. Only a second later the beast shrunk into the tiny form of Garfield Logan. "What're you guys doing here?! Hiding from Donna too?!"

Burying her forehead in her palm, the dark-haired princess was more than happy to let him think that. "Sure," she sighed as she continued to move down the hallway, no longer caring if they even followed. After all, if Matt actually _did_ turn out to be useful, it would certainly be easy enough to get the poor sap back at her beck and call.

_Beast Boy: "Jeez, she's kinda a jerk. Then again, I hate to say it, but it's startin' to look like a lot of girls are like that. I mean, three out of four girls in the tower are kinda jerks!_

_"But she sure is hot! Man, Matt's one lucky dude!"_

Climbing off his cousin's back, Gar cast his glance down the hallway at the curvy alien before asking, "Dude, how'd you manage to hook up with her?! You're such a pimp!"

"You know it," smiled Matt as he tugged at his collar. "I mean, it _had_ to be my animal charm. All she did was ask me if Starfire had a boyfriend, and when I told her _I_ was she just shoved her t--s in my face and pulled me off to her room an' threw me on the bed!"

_Beast Boy: "Wow, that—hold it! I know I'm not the smartest animal in the jungle, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't miss something that big!"_

"What do you _mean_ you're Kory's boyfriend?" Beast Boy was puzzled, his head cocked to the side. "C'mon cuz, that's total bull!"

Even from halfway down the hall, Komand'r couldn't miss that. Matt wasn't Koriand'r's boyfriend?! _What?!_

"Well, of _course_!" exclaimed Matt with a smile. "But it's totally the best prank ever!" Gar burst out laughing, nearly falling over from the sheer force.

_Beast Boy: "See?! This is why I love this guy!"_

Suddenly Komand'r was back, looming over both boys menacingly. "Matt, darling," she said, trying her hardest to still sound sweet and loving despite the anger boiling over inside her, "What are you saying?!"

Blushing, the slacker stumbled backwards. "M'love, I'm sorry! It was just a joke, I swear!" Waving his arms before him, his smile actually started to return. "Seriously though, I'm sure you're really relieved! Now you don't have to worry about how you giving into my sheer animal magnetism hurt your sister!"

"But," Komand'r seethed, clenching both her fists, "Does this mean my little sister _doesn't_ have a boyfriend, or…"

Garfield Logan shrugged. "She has a thing for Robin, but then she got all mad at him, but I think she's back to liking him again, 'cuz they just flew off to the beach to eat a picnic lunch."

_Beast Boy: "I didn't think it would hurt to mention it—dude, that was such a mistake—but I guess I was trying to figure out why she was so nosy. Guess they even have Gossip Girls in outer space!_

_"That sure sucks for the aliens…"_

"See?" Matt asked, standing on his top-toes as he placed his hand on his lover's bronze shoulder. "You know where Starfire is, so _now_ can we go—"

Matthew Logan didn't even have a chance to finish his sentence as Komand'r span, hurling the back of her palm into the boy's cheek. He span like a top, flying through the wall and into one of the storage rooms.

"You _ingrate!_" she screamed, holding up her clenched hand as a sparking ball of purple formed in her palm. "You could have ruined everything!"

"Matt!" Without giving it a second's hesitation, Beast Boy leapt forward, expanding into an Ankylosaurus. The prehistoric creature's armored hide allowed both boys to survive, but Gar and Matt both lay unconscious in the blast's wake, smoke pouring from their skinny frames.

_Beast Boy: "I never even thought about what I was doin'—I wasn't gonna let her hurt my cousin! I only wish I got to lay into the witch myself!"_

Turning towards the far wall, Komand'r blasted a hole straight through to the outside.

"Little sister, this game of cat and mouse is growing old. I may just have to _end_ it tonight!"

**A SECLUDED BEACH**

"Dick, this meal you made is wonderful!" Starfire opened her mouth wide and heartily sank her teeth into a chicken leg, showing no modesty as she ripped meat from the bone.

Smiling like an infatuated schoolboy—which wasn't too far from what he was—Robin replied, "You bet it is! Want more?"

_Robin: "Man, this is going great! She even loves the food—so happy I didn't make it myself. Anything I try to cook just ends up tasting like s---, and hell, pretty much tasting like it too!"_

_Starfire: "Of course, I am rather sure he simply _bought_ the food from that Kentucky place with the pleasant looking man with the white beard on the sign that Jupiter got us dinner from the other day, but that does not bother me. Dick's intent is still sincere, and that is what makes the food taste so wonderful!"_

"No, thank you," Kory answered, tossing the eaten-clean bone in her hand atop a rather large pile of similar bones. "I do believe I have finally eaten my full."

"Ah," Dick said, nodding. No more words were exchanged for several moments, and finally the acrobat just decided to blurt out the first thing that came to mind to break the awkward silence. "Y'know Kory, I've been wondering just how you can speak English. When we first met you said you didn't know how to read, but yet…"

_Robin: "Hell, she speaks it better'n most of us!"_

"Oh," laughed the Tamaranian as she wiped a few crumbs off her lips with a napkin. "I am surprised I never mentioned that. My species has the ability to gain the full knowledge of a spoken language through lip contact—it is called tactile language absorption. That is how I learned English, but written language cannot be passed along the same way."

_Starfire: "It is quite a useful ability, especially for the Tamaranian ambassadors when they have to negotiate with other species. Of course, it has been useless during the Gordanian conflict, because they will not let us get close to them!"_

_Robin: "So she had to kiss somebody to learn English! Holy s---, whoever got that smooch is one lucky son of a b----!"_

"So I guess that explains why you're always so proper too," he chuckled.

The alien was confused. "Proper? But…that is good, yes?"

"I guess it doesn't really matter," Dick shrugged, "I just mean you don't, like, use contractions. Y'know, like 'stead of saying 'don't', you say 'do not.'" Scratching his chin, he mused, "Course, thinkin' 'bout it, your sister uses 'em all the time."

_Robin: "With detective lessons from the little Robin comin' up soon, I'm trying to start noticing things more. Not hard to remember 'em either—don't see what's so hard about this detective s---!"_

"Komand'r has been away from Tamaran far more than I have," Starfire said, "So it is no surprise she is better acquainted with foreign languages than I."

_Starfire: "Of course, Komand'r had no reason to be around Earth, so I do not know why English would be one of those languages she would know better than I. In fact, I do not even know how she found me here—it seems too amazing to be a coincidence, but every time I inquire this of her she is just evasive._

_"Evasive—how that describes my sister. In so many ways, she is rather unlike almost all of us Tamaranians. It is no wonder she so often ventured away from home."_

"Yeah," Dick said absently, his mind having already wandered away from his random thought and the conversation that ensued. "Hey Kory, do y'know that the 'lip contact' you learn to talk with means something totally different here on Earth?"

_Robin: "Real smooth, Dick. Lead her right into the kiss."_

"Of course," Kory replied, a hint of anger in her voice as her eyebrows arched. "Late night television called it 'kissing.' From watching you with that girl you saved from Deathstroke and at the club, you seem quite proficient at it, no?"

_Robin: "S---! Yeah, as smooth as chunky peanut butter, Dick…"_

"Alright, fine," sighed the acrobat. "I guess this is why I brought you here anyway…" However, just as Robin was about to launch into his apologies and explanations, his ears perked up. "Wait…do you hear something?"

"Dick, do not try to evad—" Before she could even finish putting him back on track, Koriand'r heard the same noise. "No, I am sorry, you are right—and it is moving in fast!"

Starfire exploded forward, practically clotheslining Dick in the stomach as she grabbed him and flew as fast as she could. Behind them, their pristine picnic spot erupted into flames as a purple projectile detonated. The force knocked both Titans from the air, and as they tumbled across the sand they could hear the cackle of a familiar laugh.

"How lucky of you to evade my attack," laughed Komand'r as she emerged from the smoke, balls of purple energy sparking around both her hands. "Of course, I was hoping that wouldn't kill you. After all we've gone through, it would have been so…_anti-climatic_!"

"Big sister?!" Koriand'r was crestfallen, feeling like her heart fell deep into her stomach. "What—what is the meaning of this?!"

_Starfire: "Komand'r has always been somewhat dishonest, somewhat distant, somewhat…_odd_…but I still loved her and I thought she felt the same. For her to attack me was the last thing I ever would have expected in my life!"_

"Meaning?" Her magenta Starbolts grew larger. "I'm going to kill you and the boy you love, little sister. And please, while I'm doing it…call me Blackfire!"

**TITANS TOWER—LIVING ROOM**

Three Titans later, the Martian Manhunter had found nothing. Now he probed the mind of Wonder Girl, Donna Troy, as those three teammates and her boyfriend, the Green Lantern, watched eagerly.

The lull ended, and Donna slumped forward for a second as the Manhunter stepped away. "Nothing," he mumbled angrily to himself, before looking up to face his audience. "Just as with the rest of you, just as with the Justice League, there is no sign of the manipulation."

_Wonder Girl: "Wow, that was odd…but not necessarily bad. It was kind of like getting my brain massaged, or like the reflection ritual the Amazons use before they go into battle."_

"I'm sorry, J'onn," Donna said sadly. "Maybe if I could've found the _others_ we'd have had some luck."

"Doubtful, Wonder Girl," J'onn J'onzz replied. "Whoever is behind this, they have covered their tracks well. They could not have _possibly_ been sloppy enough to have left traces within your missing friends."

"Who even has that kind of power?!" Kyle asked incredulously. "Doctor Destiny? Despero? _Starro?!_ What would any of them gain from this?!"

"You know," interjected Cyborg, who cleared his throat before he continued, "Before our confrontation we were attacked by Deathstroke, and before _that_ by Dr. Light. Both were hired by _somebody_ to kill us—could this have been the same? Are there any telepathic mercenaries?"

_Cyborg: "I think everybody just forgot about _why_ those guys attacked with everything going on around us, but I sure didn't. Damn I wish Raven hadn't put Light in a coma—Deathstroke'll never talk, but a moron like Light would've been easy to crack like an egg…"_

Unseen by the others, Raven slumped backwards just a tad. In reality, _she_ was the one who had manipulated the other Titans and the Justice League into fighting each other, all to further Mr. Jupiter's mysterious plans. Jupiter had said he'd cover up the signs of her manipulations, and she was impressed by his work—not only had J'onn come up completely dry, but he hadn't even found out about her further manipulation of Wally's emotions!

Still, she couldn't have the others snooping further into who hired the mercenaries—not without jeopardizing everything they'd been working towards. She could manipulate them into apathy, and they wouldn't even know it—however, a loud cry distracted them _for_ her.

"Guys!" The four Titans and two Leaguers turned towards the living room door, where Beast Boy stood with his cousin, Matt Logan, slumped in his arms. Matt was unconscious, half his face swelled to immense sizes thanks to Komand'r's attack. Gar looked even worse—bleeding from cuts across his body, much of his green skin was now purple instead from the bruising. He was fortunate his dinosaur form's thick armor took the majority of the attack—or he might not have made it through!

_Beast Boy: "Jeez, I can't believe how much that freaking hurt! Those Starbolts really pack a wallop! We all thought Kory was, like, real vicious, but from that I think she's actually been holdin' back a lot!"_

"Gar!" Vic exclaimed, stopped from running to his best bud's side only by Raven's cloak springing to life, sending a tremendous black bird-shaped projectile soaring towards the two relatives. Kyle's green ring sparked to life as he prepared to restrain the empath he clearly didn't trust, but he needn't have worried—as it approached Gar and Matt it started to glow fluorescent blue, and as it surrounded them their wounds slowly healed, cuts sealing up and bruises disappearing completely.

Kyle growled, but backed off. He still didn't trust anybody that creepy.

_Speed: "See, I knew she had to care! I wish I knew why she doesn't want to admit it!"_

_Raven: "I could feel Speed's thoughts on my actions, but I simply knew that the sooner Beast Boy was back on his feet, the sooner we would find out about the threat that put him in that state in the first place."_

_Beast Boy: "Crap, this is the second time she's had to heal me like that, and I don't think she's done it for anybody else! Why am I the one crap like this always happens to?"_

Moaning on the floor, Matt started to come to. "S--- Komand'r, you know how to turn me on," he mumbled happily as he pulled himself to his feet—however as he finally looked up, a sad, quizzical look filled his face. "Wait a sec—Komand'r?!"

"Calm down, cuz'" Gar said as he took the slacker by his shoulder. "You're just suffering from amora…homi…phobia, yeah, amorahomiphobia: being turned on by somebody tryin' to kill ya'!"

_Beast Boy: "That's the way to do it Gar—make 'im forget his problems, make 'im laugh! It always works!"_

"Phobias are_ fears_, Gar," sighed Donna, "Not fetishes."

"She tried…to kill me?" His cousin's humor hadn't helped. "F---, she's the worst girlfriend I've ever had!"

"_Hold it_," growled Cyborg. "What the hell are you guys talking about?!"

Gar jumped to his feet, seething. "Komand'r punched Matt through a wall, then tried to blow 'im up! I barely saved us!"

"She must've been really pissed I told her I was Starfire's boyfriend," Matt mused to nobody in particular, staring blankly nowhere in particular either as he comprehended his loss.

"Okay," demanded Wonder Girl, "Gar, give me the whole story here. This isn't making sense!"

"Fine, but there's not much more to it," sighed Beast Boy. "Komand'r asked Matt if he was Kory's boyfriend, he said yeah, as a joke—cracked _me_ up when I found out—then she just dragged him off an…and…" Garfield paused, trying to find appropriate words.

"F---ed him?" suggested Wally with a shrug. Vic tried to smack him across the head, but he became intangible, chuckling as the metal man's hand sailed harmlessly through his 'body.'

_Beast Boy: "Eh. I don't like cussing. Dad would've smacked me if I used a word like that, and Steve—that's Mento, my adopted dad on the Doom Patrol—jeez, he'd of given me a telepathic headache!"_

Shrugging, Gar acquiesced with a "Sure…so they did…that, then she took Matt to go find Kory, and then I found 'im and Matt slipped up an' told me about his joke, and Komand'r got so pissed she tried to kill us! She said Matt almost ruined it all, whatever that means!"

_Cyborg: "Damn Matt…he would get us into something like this…"_

"Yo," interrupted Kyle Rayner, his ring sparking, "This Komand'r girl you're talking about, she's Starfire's sister, a Tamaranian, right? This her?" A green energy construct perfectly replicating the princess's appearance formed, and Donna nodded yes to both questions. The Lantern smacked himself in the face.

"Then you guys are in it deep!" he exclaimed. "That's Princess Komand'r of Tamaran—known across space as the tyrant Blackfire! She's wanted in a dozen galaxies for crimes ranging from burglary to war crimes to treason to murder!"

_Wonder Girl: "Damn her! Damn _me_! I'm team leader! I should have been able to tell! How could I have let her stay here?!"_

"But…" stammered Donna, still trying to comprehend, "But why come here then?!"

"Because of Starfire," stated Raven, with absolute certainty. "Blackfire, from the moment she arrived here, was consumed by hatred and jealously for her younger sister. I did not say anything because she was not _acting_ on her impulses, but…"

Donna nearly exploded. "What?! Raven, how could you keep that from us?!"

"As I was about to say, that was a mistake," growled the empath.

_Raven: "Hypocrite. As if she has never made a mistake…"_

"Save your arguments for later," commanded the Martian Manhunter, stepping into the middle of the group. "Obviously this Blackfire wished to use Matt to harm her sister—so who _knows_ what she might be planning now. Time is of the essence!"

"I can sense her," Raven said, her eyes glowing as her nearly limitless emphatic powers spread across the city. "Starfire and Robin are with her as well. From the anger, tension and surprise I sense, their confrontation has already begun. I could teleport there, but I do not have the power to take _all_ of us…"

The room filled with emerald light as Kyle spoke. "Don't sweat it, Raven. I can get us there faster than you can say 'Komand'r, in the name of the Green Lantern Corps you're under arrest!'"

_Beast Boy: "Actually…it kinda takes a long time to say that!"_

**A SECLUDED BEACH**

"B-Blackfire?! What are you saying, Komand'r?"

"You took on the name Starfire to help people here," growled the dark-haired princess, "So I took on the name Blackfire to _hurt_ _you_! After the Gordanians lost you I had to travel halfway across the universe, but finally I found you! Thanks to that skinny little _bastard_ though, all my hard work was for nothing!"

"Yo, b----!" called Robin, his hands already holding several explosive disks. "You're not making any sense!"

Nearly in tears, Koriand'r agreed. "Indeed! Sister, I cannot believe what you are saying! You are my sister, and sisters _love_ each other!"

_Starfire: "I mean, I have never been anything but nice to Komand'r! I have gone out of my way to help her my entire life, because I _know_ how much she has had to endure!"_

"That's exactly what I'm talking about!" shouted Blackfire. "You're a suck-up, you're self-righteous, phony, and spoiled! All my life I've been looked down upon just because I don't meet some arbitrary set of standards! Everything that should have been mine was given to _you_! My love, my attention, my _throne_! Everybody loved you and you didn't even appreciate it! Everybody hated me and I didn't even deserve it!

"All I ever wanted to do was make you _suffer_! I don't know how you can be so stupid, so trusting, so naïve to have never caught on! Everything bad that's ever happened to you has been _my doing!_ And yet, even after everything I've ever done to you, you're still _happy!_ How can you still be happy?!"

The red-headed alien stared sadly at her sister. "Because our problems only make us stronger, sister! I have _never_ condoned how our people sometimes treated you, but had you kept a better attitude—"

"That's exactly what I'm talking about!" interrupted Komand'r. "You have no right to lecture me!"

Suddenly, an explosion rocketed from the tyrant's stomach. The disks that had been in Dick's hand were now gone, the source of the attack. "Enough bulls---!" he cried.

_Robin: "Blackfire is so totally full of it! There's no way I'll let people talk like that about my friends—especially Kory!"_

"She has _every_ right to lecture you!" the acrobat continued. "You know as _f---ing_ well as I do that she's right! Maybe I wasn't there, but it's pretty g--damn obvious people didn't like Kory cause she could fly, and, at least after a while, they didn't hate you because you couldn't!

"People love Kory because she cares about them, even when they don't deserve it! Because she'll always help out, because she always makes us see the best even when we think things are the worst, because she never tolerates evil motherf---ers like you—and if you'd been nice, they would've felt the same about you! So don't act like you've got anything at all to say—you're just a petty, jealous b----!"

Seething, her teeth nearly biting through her jaw they were clenched so hard, Komand'r had nothing to reply with. She simply launched a Starbolt—or perhaps 'Blackbolt' would be more appropriate—large enough to level a mountain in retaliation.

"Yeah, can't handle the truth, can ya?" taunted Dick as he desperately searched for a way out of this one. He needn't bother—the blast was stopped cold in its tracks by a similar projectile from Starfire. Luminescent green energy leaked from the alien's hands and eyes as she stared coldly at her traitorous sibling.

_Starfire: "Today I was actually surprised _twice_—and not both of them were bad. I—I had no idea Dick felt the way he did! Forget any apologies or picnics—_that _was all Dick ever needed to say all along! And that was all the encouragement I needed to face Komand'r!"_

"So, you _do_ like him," said Blackfire with a malicious smile. "That will certainly make killing him even _more_ fun."

"I do not want to fight you, Komand'r," replied her sister grimly, "But I will _not_ allow you to harm him!"

The older princess actually laughed, nearly doubling over. "Little sister, I don't think you have a _choice_!" Suddenly another Blackbolt exploded from her palms. "I always _was_ the better fighter!" Starfire could barely escape the tremendously fast projectile, her feet nearly touching the dangerous energy as she soared above it.

_Starfire: "She had a point—to an extent. Komand'r always did beat me, but we always fought under rules, in an arena. Now, there are no rules. She had made this personal, made this a _war_, and in this war I have one advantage my sister does not: flight."_

Soaring high above the beach, Koriand'r released a flurry of scatter-shot blasts that covered for the entire area surrounding her opponent. Again, Blackfire only seemed amused. "Of course, take advantage of my _disability_." The same energy that formed the alien's Blackbolts surrounded her body, creating a sparking, purple aura, similar to the Green Lanterns. "Too bad that won't work anymore!"

As Kory's shots ricocheted harmlessly off the energy aura Komand'r shot forward, the force of the power in her shield actually propelling her across the sand! Kory started to panic as her big sister shot into the air, and even a head-on Starbolt didn't deter Blackfire as she collided with her opponent's gut at full speed. In a stunning combination, violet energy exploded around her, leaving no room for Kory to escape.

Still, Starfire was a warrior, and this couldn't stop her. Somersaulting backwards and out of range, she released a full force blast from both her outstretched hands. Komand'r's aura amassed into a full-fledged shield before her, effortlessly deflecting the shot. Not wasting a second, several long, thin Blackbolts lashed out like whips, restraining Koriand'r's wrists and ankles.

_Starfire: "They burned, but the pain never even entered my mind. I was more worried about how my sister was doing the things she was doing—I trained very hard, and thought my Starbolts should be capable of such feats, but I could never learn to manipulate them once I released their power!"_

"H-How can you—"

"Oh Koriand'r, it seems you've again underestimated just what I'm capable of," gloated Blackfire as she began an, at first, seemingly unrelated tangent. "I hate our petty homeworld nearly as much as I hate you, and one day after years of tiny successes, I decided to attack both at the same time.

"I contacted our enemies, the Gordanians, and pledged my allegiance to _them_. I gave them every secret of our kingdom, every strategy of our armies. I even helped them into our home, because I wanted them to kidnapyou! Every torture you endured was my design, every horror you experienced my idea!

"When one of those torturous experiments accidentally produced your Starbolts, I tinkered with it. I was never the Gordanian's _slave_, little sister—I was their _master_. I _had_ them give me these enhanced Blackbolt abilities! I helped them attack Tamaran's weak points, until our Father was forced to start negotiations! And when the moronic guards I had watching you _sold_ you behind my back, I tracked you to Earth and sacrificed those worthless pawns back at the club to make you think I was kidnapped, to make you feel _sorry_ for me!"

_Starfire: "Komand'r was right about one thing…I was blind to never notice my sister's madness. I love my Starbolts, but the Gordanian torture that produced them was the worst experience of my life—I would never wish that on anyone! Yet, just to aid her journey of revenge, she willingly underwent them! I cannot believe the monster that lurked inside her!"_

Still, as far as Kory thought, her sister was also definitely _wrong_ about one thing. "Sold…what are you talking about? I escaped from the Gordanians! Mr. Jupiter found me and gave me a home here, a refuge!"

Komand'r snickered. That Jupiter sure was a master manipulator! "Delude yourself however you wish, little sister. It can't cloud the fact that I have had control of your entire life, and I'm not letting it go now!"

"Yes you _will_!" A Starbolt burst from each of her hands like flashes of light, dissolving the Blackbolts' grip on her. Kory tagged her sister with a second blast—it couldn't penetrate her aura, but it did send the elder princess reeling. Every inch closer Starfire soared she lopped off another blast, desperately hoping to keep Blackfire off balance.

However, she was greeted by a purple blast, about the size of a baseball, zipping through her barrage until it collided with the Tamaranian powerhouse herself, detonating on contact. Smoke poured from the battered Titan, and as it cleared she could see her sister floating before her, laughing maniacally behind her impenetrable aura.

_Starfire: "Deep down inside I did not want to know, but I simply could not stand to see her so smug anymore. I had to know. I despise being lied to!"_

"What else?!" Koriand'r cried. "What else did you do?!"

Tilting her head so she was looking down her nose at her little sister, Blackfire happily started to list her acts of revenge. "You know how you lost all your toys when you were a child? Well, you didn't. I destroyed them all—every single one."

Kory exploded forward, launching her emerald energy blasts with reckless abandon. Komand'r didn't even need her aura—she simply weaved between them. "Your pet Tauranik, Yeppi? It didn't run away—I snapped the beast's scrawny little neck!"

Spinning, Starfire's foot landed in her sister's face with a squish, but Blackfire only had to launch a Blackbolt to stop herself from flying off. "That time Father accused you of painting all over his Royal Armor? I framed you—even studied your drawings to make it convincing!"

Koriand'r had to bite her lip. She couldn't believe her sister would do all this, would go to such lengths for something as simple as jealously!

"Of course," continued Komand'r, each word filled with gleeful malice, "that was all kids stuff. My first _real_ achievement was General Karras…"

_Starfire: "No! General Karras was…my first love—on this planet I believe he would be called a 'crush.' He was a wonderful, sweet, strong man, a powerful warrior and a true hero, and he gave his life at the very beginning of the Gordanian war…Until today I thought it was an accident, but…"_

"The only kids stuff there," gloated the hateful Tamaranian, "Was overriding Father's command center and sending Karras's unit on that suicide mission…"

"That is enough!" cried Starfire as she lunged for her sister, balls of compressed Starbolt energy surrounding both her fists as she flew into a fluid volley of alien martial arts. At this point, Komand'r little cared what hit or missed—_this_ was the rage she'd been waiting for her sister to display!

A Blackbolt zigzagged forward, striking the younger princess and sending a shock throughout her entire body. Blackfire caught her with one hand, holding her by the neck as another blast started to crackle in her free hand.

"And the inevitable outcome has been reached," said Komand'r with a smirk. "Tell me my sister, do you finally understand how I feel? I can see the rage on your face, and oh how glorious it is!"

Pausing for a second, she pointed the growing attack towards the tiny red and black dot on the ground—no doubt Robin, helpless to even assist in such a high-flying battle. "You know, until today I'd been going about this all wrong. Sneaking around behind your back? That's _nothing_ compared to seeing the pain of my betrayal on your face.

"But now, it's time for that all to end. I will kill the man you love, and then you, and attain my happiness once and for all!"

_Starfire: "When she first started talking I indeed was angry, angrier than I had ever been. But that was what she _wanted_—that was what had ruined her life, made her into this monster. When I took a good long look at my sister, I realized that I could not hate her, despite how much I wanted to. I could not hate somebody so _sick_…"_

"You know, sister," said Kory, her voice straining over Blackfire's grip on her windpipe, "You are wrong. I can never feel the way you do. I could never throw away my life like that! You want me to hate you, to be angry, vengeful, miserable, _devastated_…but all I can do is _pity_ you."

"What?!" screamed Komand'r, her face snarling in disgust and rage.

"I pity how sick you are, I pity how you could not appreciate the love your family showed you, and I pity how you have wasted your life!" Her opponent could only grow more enraged as Koriand'r chuckled. "Big sister, you have been a fool."

The raging ball of purple energy in Blackfire's palm started to grow as her arm moved forward. "I'm only a fool letting you live so long! Good riddance, Koriand'r! Go make somebody else's life miserable!"

"No!" exclaimed Starfire as emerald energy sparked to life in her eyes. "You were a fool to let me in this close!" Much to the surprise of Komand'r, a tiny, concentrated Starbolt erupted from her younger sister's eyes! Firing like a bullet, it actually managed to penetrate her Blackbolt aura!

Exploding on contact, the beam drove Blackfire into the ground, each new burst of energy exploding—the alien must have endured nine or ten before she crashed. A pillar of black smoke churned from the crater she now inhabited. Meanwhile, her sister slowly floated to the ground, rubbing her tearing eyes.

_Starfire: "I only save that maneuver for such situations…it is rather painful to execute, but certainly the best trick I have when there is nothing left to try!"_

"Kory!" The bronze-skinned beauty turned to see Robin running across the beach. "Kory! Are you okay?!"

"I am…fine," she said as she slumped slightly. "I am simply tired."

"You're…not…gonna be okay…for long…" growled a battered voice. Both Titans turned to find—to their shock and surprise—Blackfire crawling out of the crater! Her wicked beauty, however, was hidden behind burns and bruises. There simply wasn't much fight left in her.

Koriand'r frowned. "Komand'r, stand down. The fight is over."

"Never," gasped the battered Tamaranian. "Not until…you're dead"

"Yeah, fat chance of that happening." Suddenly Blackfire was crushed by a giant green energy construct shaped like an anvil, with the words '50 tons' written on the side. The two Teen Titans were greeted by none other than Kyle Rayner, the Green Lantern!

As the anvil construct melted down into a straightjacket, restraining Komand'r as it dragged her from the crater, the other Titans emerged from an energy spaceship Kyle had created. "Dude, that was more fun than Disney World!" exclaimed a very dizzy Beast Boy as he stumbled across the ground.

"Is that…Komand'r?" asked Matt pitifully as he saw his battered love. Suddenly Starfire's arm was around the boy. Looking up into her eyes, he could see how sorry for him she felt. "Did she…really try to _kill_ you?"

"I am afraid so," said Kory with a sigh. "Matt, I know you cared for her, but…she did not care for _anybody_."

Blackfire moaned pitifully as Kyle pulled her close. "Princess Komand'r of Tamaran, a.k.a. Blackfire, in the name of the Green Lantern Corps you are under arrest for crimes on twelve different worlds!" The Lantern paused for a second as he looked over his shoulder at his prisoner's sister. "Actually, make that thirteen."

_Starfire: "I know the others did not understand, but there was no doubt I _had_ to do what I did next."_

"Kyle," began Kory, "How long will she be in prison for?"

"A lot longer than any of us'll be alive for," he replied. "Hell, half of her crimes carry life penalties!"

Pausing for a second, making sure she was truly convinced of her decision, Starfire spoke up. "Than I refuse to press charges."

The majority of her teammates had only one reply: "What?!"

"She may have tried to kill me," said Koriand'r sadly, "But she is still my sister. The punishment is bad enough already."

_Speed: "I like Kory, just _because_ of stuff like this, but really, some people don't deserve forgiving, family or not!"_

_Wonder Girl: "Now that's how families are really supposed to stick together!"_

_Raven: "Starfire's actions here tonight may turn out to be a mistake, but I still cannot help but respect her decision. She really is a good person…no surprise, then, that she is not a human being…"_

The Martian Manhunter silently approached his teammate and his prisoner, wrapping his pale green hands around Blackfire's head. His orange eyes lit up for a second. "There, now she shall remain unconscious until you and her arrive at trial. Should I alert the League of your leave of absence?"

"Yeah, thanks," said Kyle. "I'll try to pull in Guy or John to replace me while I'm gone!"

"John please, if at all possible," said J'onn dryly. He just wasn't up to enduring Guy Gardner anymore.

"You're leaving?!" Suddenly Donna was at her boyfriend's side. "Can't you get somebody else to take her in?"

Kyle's smile dropped slightly. "But I'll get a ton of brownie points with the Guardians for bringing in a criminal this big!" he exclaimed.

"I know," sighed the Amazon. "I just hate to see you go."

"It's not my favorite thing to do either Wonder Chick, but c'mon, its part of the job! I won't be gone _that_ long!"

_Wonder Girl: "No, not for all super-heroes have to work that much…sometimes I almost think he doesn't _want_ to spend time with me! I'm getting really tired of fighting over my boyfriends' attention with a bunch of criminals!"_

Meanwhile, Dick Grayson had something he had to do. "Kory?" The alien nodded as the acrobat sat down beside her on the sand. "I got interrupted by, y'know, the whole desperate fight for your life, but I still want to say what I brought you here to—"

Koriand'r shushed Robin with one finger to his lips. "Please, it is not necessary," she smiled. "What you said about me to my sister—that was sincere. It came from your heart, and was better than any apology!"

_Robin: "Wow, the one time I'm not trying I'm totally a pimp!"_

"Though," she continued, "There _is_ the matter of what you are going to do about all those other girls…"

_Starfire: "I do hope that was a little subtle…I _am_ trying to play a little more by Earth's rules_ _at least."_

_Robin: "Direct and to the point! Just how I like 'em!"_

"Oh, no contest," laughed Dick. "Kory…do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"I'o!" exclaimed the alien.

Dick just raised an eyebrow. "What the hell?!"

"I'o…it is a contraction!" Upon seeing his confused look, she lost some of her excitement. "You know, I plus do…"

"Not bad, but we still got a lotta work to do on those," smiled Robin. "But first, let's celebrate by trying out some of that…'lip contact' we were talking about earlier."

_Starfire: "I was starting to think he would never ask!"_

Without wasting a second the extraterrestrial bombshell grabbed the boy and pulled him close, and much lip contact was had by all.

_Robin: "G--damn! She certainly doesn't need to practice _that_, that's for sure!"_

**A LITTLE LATER—TITANS TOWER**

"Vic, I can't believe you!"

_Cyborg: "Whaddaya know, Wally was actually right for once. Well, I told Gar about Matt's house, and to put it lightly…Gar's pissed."_

_Beast Boy: "Matt's a slacker! I'm not surprised at all that he got kicked out, but dude, he would never just come here to mooch off us!"_

"I got kicked out of my apartment?" asked Matt quizzically.

"Yeah," growled Victor Stone. "That's what happens when you don't pay your bills."

"Dude, what's wrong with you?!" Garfield exclaimed. "You've had it out for Matt ever since he got here!"

Vic buried his face in his metallic palm for a second. "He's using you, Gar! He's done nothing since he got here but get you in trouble!"

"I know!" countered Beast Boy. "That's what I like about him—I mean, the getting in trouble part! I'm not being used!"

"Seriously man, I'd never do that," Matt said somberly. "I just went to stay over with some friends, and next thing you know, I'm livin' there, and I forgot I even ever _had_ an apartment.

"And you know what? Hell, I'm wanted there, and obviously I'm not here!"

Matt stormed out the door, heading for the Tower entrance. "Matt, come back!" cried his cousin, who didn't catch up with him until he got outside. "Dude, don't leave just because Vic's bein' a jerk today! _I _want you here!"

"I know cuz'," Matt said with a sigh. "It's not just that. Just…man, don't tell anybody, but I lost my virginity here. Maybe I'll be fine in a couple of weeks or something, but right now I just don't want to be here and think 'bout how much that b---- Komand'r used me, y'know?"

_Beast Boy: "Wow. That took guts. Matt's always passin' himself off as this huge pimp…see, maybe he's not the most polite guy or whatever, but I don't see how Vic could think he was a bad person!"_

"You should totally come by and visit sometime though," continued Matt, his smile perking back up. "We've got a keg on tap 24/7!"

Gar laughed. "Well, I may skip the booze, but I'll definitely be by soon. And hey, you should come visit sometime too, y'know...when you feel better—and when Vic's out on a date or somethin'."

With that last line Matt Logan couldn't help but to laugh out loud. "Totally." The slacker ran his hand through his cousins green hair for a second before walking towards the Titans Island dock. "See ya soon, little 'cuz."

"Yeah…see ya."

Back inside, Cyborg was leaning against a wall when Beast Boy stormed in. "Gar!" he exclaimed, rushing after his friend.

"Dude, Vic, I really don't want to talk right now."

"But, I was—"

Garfield Logan sighed. "I know, you were just trying to help. Normally that's cool, but c'mon man, I didn't need help! You were treating me like a little kid again! I thought we talked about that!" Before his half-robot companion could reply, the green kid ran for the stairs. "I'm sorry, but I just can't talk now!"

_Beast Boy: "If I stayed down there, I'd start feeling sorry for him…and I just really needed to be mad for a while. Vic meant well, so I know I can't stay mad at him forever, but for now…I just want him to stop treating me like I'm in diapers!"_

_Cyborg: "Man, I was doing great then WHAM, I screw up like this again. Good person or not, using Gar or not, Matt was still a bad influence, and I stand by that. But I should never have butted in like that—lotta good that does me now though. I can't believe Wally was right—Gar didn't went help, and Wally doesn't want help…Nobody wants help._

_"So I'll limit my helpin' to superhero stuff. They want to be left alone? They got it…"_

**WONDER GIRL'S BEDROOM**

Donna Troy lay on her side on her bed, a glum expression on her face as she wrote in her diary, looking up every few minutes to glance at her phone.

_Wonder Girl: "I don't know why I kept expecting Kyle to call—I guess I just hoped he would change his mind and stick around…but of course, he didn't. He said he'd come visit me as soon as Blackfire's trial is over, and I know he's telling the truth, but I'd still rather have him here now…"_

Suddenly the phone rang, and the Amazon's excitement was peaked for a split second—until she saw it wasn't Kyle. Actually, she didn't know who was calling her at all. "Hello?"

"Donna! Hey! It's me—Terry!"

The Titan raised an eyebrow. "Terry?"

"Y'know, Terry Long! We met in Jupiter's office!"

_Wonder Girl: "Oh, _him_. Unless he can bring Kyle back, I'm not interested."_

"Terry, how did you get my number? I never gave it to you—you gave me _yours_!"

"Yeah," chuckled the gofer. "Don't tell anybody, but I hacked into Jupiter's database to get it."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Um, you do realize your call is being filmed, right?"

"Oops."

_Wonder Girl: "I have to admit, though, he is an oddly charming little doof."_

"Anyway Donna, I'm sorry for being stalkerish, but you hadn't called me back, and I reeeeeally want to take you out to this little café I found!"

"Terry, I told you, I have a boyfriend!"

"I know, but…can't you just go with me once?! Please?!"

_Wonder Girl: "Actually, it's somewhat ironic. A boy I have no interest in is begging for a date, while I can't get my boyfriend to stay around for anything!"_

Burying her head in her pillow, Wonder Girl sighed. "Fine," she said with a huff. "But just this once! No matter what happens, you can never guilt me again!"

"Great!" exclaimed Terry. "You won't regret this, Donna!"

_Wonder Girl: "I mean, how else am I going to get him to leave me alone? We'll go out, he'll realize we have nothing in common, and that'll be the end of it. I mean, Kyle's not here…he'll never find out! And even if he did, he'd understand._

_"What harm could that possibly do?"_

Next time: Titans East


	10. Titans East

OOC: Sorry for the wait guys—this'd probably been up a week earlier if family hadn't come and demanded all of everybody's time. I hope to have the next chapter up in a timely manner, but no guarantees—just bought Super Smash Brothers Brawl, after all ;) I hope you enjoy, and please, leave me a comment and let me know what you think! Thanks!

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and owned by DC Comics. It is with great respect for them that I use their characters, but I am making no money off of them. Sadly.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 10: Titans East**

**ROLE CALL:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

**ON THE AIR—CARDY CAFÉ, SAN FRANSCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA**

An umbrella cast shade that protected Terry Long from the vicious California sun as he pondered his upcoming date. After all, he only had one chance to make this perfect—he couldn't screw up!

He'd been slouching, his head resting in his hands, his arms propping both up as they leaned against the table, one of about eight lining the outside of the quaint, retro-style café. Now, however, he straightened his back as he examined his wardrobe once again, making sure every last fiber was perfectly aligned. After all, nothing was too good for Wonder Girl. She was a superhero, her boyfriend was a superhero—he was a gofer! He'd worked hard for this opportunity to impress her, and he couldn't mess it up now!

"Hey, Terry."

Suddenly the prepped redhead's attention was caught by his date—Donna Troy was standing just across the table, decked out in a glamorous outfit that, she hoped, would still be stunning without sending her forced date any wrong messages. Though her long sleeves nearly obscured them, her unbreakable Amazonian bracelets could just barely be seen beneath her clothes.

_Wonder Girl: "The costume's one thing, but I never leave behind my lasso or my bracelets. They're just too essential!"_

"Donna!" exclaimed Terry, nearly collapsing from his chair as he tried to rush to her side. After stumbling once or twice in his enthusiasm, he finally dashed behind the Teen Titan and pulled out her chair. Smiling, the girl wonder nodded her thanks and sat down.

_Wonder Girl: "Not bad—maybe this won't be such an ordeal after all. He definitely could use some work on his poise, but at least he's trying to be a gentleman. Of course, I don't really believe that women are so delicate that we need all this special treatment, but it's nice to see that Terry has some manners."_

"It's really good to see you!" Terry continued as he plopped back into his chair. "What do you think of this place? It's got a real retro theme, like, late sixties sorta stuff, real wholesome and everything. I like stuff like that—the past just seems like it was more peaceful, which I guess is why I like history so much. Then again, I suppose that all the problems today, they're good for no other reason than they gave us superheroes like _you_." Donna covered her mouth with one hand as she chuckled.

_Wonder Girl: "He's sweeter than he came off at first. Still trying too hard, but sweeter. Actually, I'm not used to this. Kyle never came on to me—he flirted, of course, but _I_ pursued _him_. I suppose it does come off as annoying and stalker-ish…but at the same time it's very flattering. Much moreso than Dick's admiration of me."_

"Anybody ever tell you you talk to much?" asked Wonder Girl as Terry blushed. "Anyway, if I remember your question correctly after all of that, I think this place is okay, but nostalgia isn't really my thing. I've barely lived in Man's World for two years yet, even."

"Oh yeah, that's right," remembered the gofer as he scratched his head. "Y'know, I've always been curious—what's Themyscara like?"

_Wonder Girl: "Hera, he wants to know about Themyscara? Kyle never really asked me questions about my life before I became Wonder Girl. He was the first guy I ever met, and most of what I've learned about Man's World I learned from him. I guess he loved the attention I gave him so much he never really cared about learning about _my_ world. I've got to get on him about that when he gets back…"_

And with that statement, the flood gates opened. Terry Long was a history major—Donna Troy was raised on an island of living history. An hour passed like an instant, and their food came and went, neither paying much attention. Unfortunately, their bliss was abruptly interrupted by the sounding of the Titan alarm.

Pulling out her communicator, Donna sighed. "Well, looks like I'm needed back at the tower." Standing up, she looked to the sky for a second, about to take off, before pausing and looking back towards Terry. "Guess you'll see what this is all about whenever they edit the episode."

"Yeah," sighed Terry as he slumped slightly. He was pitiful.

_Wonder Girl: "Despite what I thought when I came here today, I actually had a really good time. Kyle may have charisma, but Terry's just…charming. I really can't believe I'm thinking this, but…"_

"So, how about Saturday?" asked the Titan. Terry did a double take. "Same time, same place? I've barely even gotten started on the Titans of Myth…"

The heart of Terry Long nearly exploded from his chest. "You bet!"

_Wonder Girl: "Terry's a nice guy, and I hope I didn't give him the wrong signals, but I can see him being a good friend. Kyle will probably be pretty upset, but oh well. That's what he gets for leaving so often!"_

**OFF THE AIR—LOREN JUPITER'S OFFICE**

"You called?" The door to the office of Mr. Loren Jupiter—the mastermind behind '_The Real World: Titans Tower'_—opened inward as his secretary, the stunning Ms. Lilith Clay, entered. "What do you need?"

"Come here, Ms. Clay," beckoned her boss, hunched over his desk as he furiously scribbled on and shuffled through a massive stack of papers. As she moved closer and took a look at his work, he continued. "Blackfire's arrival was a huge stroke of luck for us, but I doubt we're going to get that lucky again. So, I've been looking for a new enemy for my Titans to fight.

"I can't just go with another mercenary—after Cyborg pointed it out to the Martian Manhunter, I'd be a fool to push that line any further. So instead, I've decided that our Titans are going to be a little more…proactive."

Smiling, Jupiter looked up and adjusted his coke-rimmed glasses as he handed his secretary some paperwork. "So, what do you think?"

The papers were profiles on the next enemies Jupiter had lined up for his team, and the more Lilith looked through them, the more worried she got. "But," she stammered, "But, these are the guys who killed—"

"I know," smiled Mr. Jupiter smugly. "Things always get more interesting when the villains have that…_personal_ touch."

That didn't comfort Ms. Clay, and as she looked over the abilities of the chosen villains, her heart sank into her chest. "These guys are powerful, and experienced!" she exclaimed. "Do you think the Teen Titans can _defeat_ them?!"

"I certainly hope so, but," Jupiter paused as he grabbed a newspaper clipping and tossed it atop Lilith's already large stack of papers, "Just in case they can't, they won't be going alone."

The black-and-white photograph that accompanied the clipping showed seven teenagers in costumes—that _weren't_ the Teen Titans they worked with—smiling proudly with several police officers. "'New team in town calls itself Titans _East_.'" Lilith raised an eyebrow. "Waitaminute, when did we create a _Titans East_?!"

"We didn't," chuckled Loren Jupiter. "Do you remember the girl Deathstroke took hostage when he fought our Titans?"

"Kinda," replied Lilith with a slight shrug. "She and Robin kissed, didn't they?"

"Indeed. Well, her name is Bette Kane, and apparently she's both rich _and_ spoiled. Her attraction to Robin seems to have boiled into an obsession, and in order to see him again she's gathered together a team of D-List heroes to attract our attention. Well, she can consider her mission complete!"

With a sigh Lilith ventured, "Let me guess. We're going to invite them along on the mission out of our oh so limitless charity?"

"Again, right on the ball," replied Jupiter, too pleased with his own plans to even acknowledge his secretary's sarcasm. "Not only will _we_ look good for helping the team reach its dream of meeting the _real_ Titans, but their unprofessionalism will help our Titans look even more impressive!"

Always the worried voice of reason, Ms. Clay asked, "But are they even up to it? They could get killed, or endanger the Titans instead of help them!"

"Don't worry, I've got everything under control," assured Mr. Jupiter as he grabbed his phone. "You didn't think I was going to test them first? I've just got to call up Belle Reeve and find the _perfect_ opponent for them…" However, as he thought of the abilities possessed by Titans East, he decided his choice in prisons could use a little changing. "No, actually I think I'd be better off contacting _Iron Heights_..."

"You know, I'm sure there's enough crime to fight in New York without you creating more," pointed out Lilith.

"True," admitted Jupiter, "But without knowing when they'll happen ahead of time, they're useless to me—how can I film them?" Finally finding the number he needed, the shady director ran his fingers across his old-fashioned, rotary dial phone. "World, prepare to meet Teen Titans East!"

**ON THE AIR—FIRST NATIONAL BANK, NEW YORK CITY**

The all too familiar sound of gunshots echoed through the New York air as about a dozen robbers, their faces hidden under black masks, spilled out of the doors of the First National Bank, their hands full of sacks of money and, of course, their guns.

"C'mon yous guys!" exclaimed one of the goons as he waved the group towards a beat-up car parked across the street, no doubt their getaway vehicle. His command wasn't really needed, as the robbers were already en route to their one hope of a speedy escape, but those hopes were quickly dashed as a beam of bright red intercepted their path and hit the car in its gas tank.

The vehicle instantly exploded, scattering the criminals. As they climbed to their feet, muttering and readying their weapons, a young girl leapt into the middle of the group.

"Hey guys!" she exclaimed, her smile full and bright. She had shoulder-length blonde hair which stuck out of the top and back of her red cowl with golden goggles. She wore red tights—the tops of her gloves and boots had fringes shaped like yellow flames, and a golden 'v' crossed her chest and latched onto her cape, which split down the middle, flaring to the sides like two flaming wings. "Need a light?"

Suddenly a blinding flash of light burst from a device in her goggles, sending her opponents staggering, rubbing their tearing eyes madly. "Oops, guess that was a little too sunny for ya', wasn't it!" exclaimed the girl—the same Bette Kane Mr. Jupiter had spoken of—as she leapt and whirled into a roundhouse kick that downed a thug.

"Yeah," grunted a second figure, "Sunny describes you perfectly, Flamebird." This figure was a young man with a thin-yet-muscular frame and a head full of fire-red hair. Instead of tights he wore crimson and black body armor, and instead of a mask, a pair of sunglasses rested across his nose. About eight different holsters, housing a variety of guns and weapons, were strapped across his body, and a steel-colored utility belt across his waist. In his hand he held a smoking, futuristic gun—the same one that torched the getaway car—which was attached to the back of his belt by a long cord. A metal rod—which no doubt unfolded into yet another weapon—ran up each of his forearms, and a red quiver full of red arrows was on his back—likely meant to be used with the longbow hung over his shoulder.

"Hey, I gotta be me, Arsenal," laughed Flamebird as she leapt over gunfire. While in mid-air she dropped a tiny device that had a little plastic Flamebird figurine standing on a base—the imitation Titan started spinning as gas sprayed from its sides, and several thugs passed out from the fumes. However, there were still plenty more. "A little help here?"

"Yeah yeah, hold your horses," grunted Arsenal—a.k.a. Agent Roy Harper of the government agency Checkmate—as he dropped his bow into his grip and pulled three arrows from his quiver. The talented marksman fired all of them at once, and as would be expected from the former sidekick of Green Arrow, all three hit their mark head on.

The first, a normal, pointed arrow, sliced through one of the guns. The head of the second burst open as it grew close, releasing a bolo that ensnared two of the muggers. The third hit the ground in the center of the crowd, exploding and sending his opponents flying.

"Great aim!" exclaimed Bette as she jumped onto one of the robbers shoulders, pushing his face into the ground.

"Of course," smiled Roy arrogantly as he picked off the last of the thieves. He approached his teammate as she admired their work. "So, where's the rest of your great team?"

Bette Kane didn't appreciate his sarcasm. "They _said_ they were on their way!" As she mulled it over, however, she started to frown. "Of course, this has happened every time I've called us for a mission, though."

"With the powers our guys have we should never be late—or separated," Arsenal stated as he crossed his arms. "And do you really think you're going to attract the attention of the Teen Titans just by stopping little crimes like this?"

"Well there haven't _been_ any _big_ crimes to stop!" whined Flamebird. "And I haven't seen you helping us find any with your fancy government contacts either!"

Roy sighed. "That's cause I'm not here for the glory like the rest of you," he grunted. "You know as well as I do that I'm only here because Checkmate didn't want a group of superpowered kids runnin' round New York unsupervised! Believe me, I'd rather be on a mission, or working at the drug centers, not babysitting you!"

"Yo! 'Nuff bickerin'!" Both Titan East-ers looked up to see at least 24 more thieves lined up in two rows, each aiming machine guns straight towards their faces.

Flamebird's eyes nearly bugged from her head. "Elaborate robbery," she marveled before turning towards Arsenal. "Well, s'been nice knowing ya."

"I guess," replied Roy, not all that happy as he faced certain death. "Would've been better if you had the brains to match that awesome body of yours though—dying banter woulda been better."

Suddenly, the sound of thunderclaps roared from a distance, and a blur of red and white zoomed past. The new thieves found themselves all disarmed!

"All right!" exclaimed the voice of a young boy. "That's, like 5 disarm skills!" Standing at the end of the line of criminals was another member of Titans East, both his arms full of their weaponry! As he dropped them, it could be seen he was wearing white tights with red boots and gloves, and a red lightning bolt down the middle. His feet were about three sizes too large in proportion to his small, scrawny body—as was his shaggy, wild brown hair, which stuck out of a red cowl with gold goggles and wingtips on the side.

He was Impulse, a hyperactive super-speedster from the future. From birth his speed wracked chaos on his metabolism, aging him prematurely—at age two, his body had aged twelve years! He was thus raised in virtual reality, so that his mind would keep pace with his body, but it wasn't a cure. Eventually he was sent to the past, where Impulse's grandfather—Barry Allen, the Flash—used his knowledge of his powers to finally reverse his grandson's condition.

Of course, due to his ties with the Flash, none of his Titans East teammates knew he was Barry's grandson, or that _his_ secret identity was Bart Allen. Considering the rest of the team enjoyed a public identity, this might've been a problem—to anybody but Impulse. He'd spent the majority of his life in VR, and…well…he hadn't quite figured out that the _real_ world wasn't a video game yet.

"That should be worth at least an extra life!" smiled Bart as the thugs stared at him blankly. Roy smacked himself in the face.

"Impulse, how many times do I have to tell you that there _are_ no extra lives in the real world?!" Bart just shrugged in response.

Suddenly Flambird's hand was on the tiny speedster's shoulder. "Oh, don't listen to him—great rescue!" Suddenly the heiress smacked Arsenal, knocking the marksman to the ground. "But if you have any of those extra lives on ya', he's gonna need one after that comment he made about me!"

"Heh," chuckled Arsenal as he pulled himself to his feet. "Y'know me, Bette—always shooting my mouth off!"

As the Titans bickered, however, the disarmed thieves slowly inched towards the weapons Impulse had stolen from them—which was a smart, if useless, idea. Before they could even get close light burst to life beneath the pile of machine guns, a circle shaped rift appearing, and the weapons fell into the portal before it sealed itself off.

If that didn't catch the attention of Titans East, what came next certainly would—one of the thugs screamed and crumpled, and the one behind him fell as his head snapped backwards, as if he'd been hit by an uppercut—yet there was nothing attacking them!

The robbers all turned to run, but one was stopped in his tracks by a jagged beam of yellow that appeared from nowhere, knocking him unconscious as smoke poured off his body.

"Bumblebee!" exclaimed Flamebird joyously. A bug-sized speck started to grow, revealing itself to be a teenaged girl, African American, dressed in a full body suit of yellow and black stripes, like a bumblebee! A hood of the same colors covered her head, and her goggles had compound eyes, like a bug—she also sported gossamer wings.

"You got it," smiled Bumblebee. Meanwhile, several of the thugs she'd spooked seemed to vanish, falling into the same sort of fluorescent wormholes that had swallowed up their weaponry. New wormholes opened about twelve feet off the ground, and those same crooks fell out of them, landing on the ground with a thud—it was just enough distance to knock them unconscious without killing them.

"And, as always, Herald's got her back." Emerging from an alley behind the rapidly growing team was another black teen, clad in a blue cloak and hood. The hood's shadows proved an effective enough mask, and in his hands he held a futuristic looking trumpet.

A smile filled Bumblebee's face as she fluttered to his side, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "You always do, Mal."

"Damn straight I do."

Malcolm Duncan—the Herald—and Karen Beecher—Bumblebee—grew up across the street from each other. They _always_ loved each other, but life pulled them in different directions. Karen, a prodigy, graduated college at the age of 15 and got a job at STAR Labs, while Mal—falling into depression without Karen—eventually dropped out of school and joined a gang.

Eventually Karen tracked down her childhood love, who without hesitation took up her invitation to move in with her. There was only one problem—Mal's gang wasn't going to let him go without a fight! So, combining her newest cybernetic inventions with her love of the insect world, Karen created the Bumblebee suit and quickly showed them that Malcolm Duncan wasn't their property anymore!

Soon the two lovebirds saw Bette Kane's open call for superheroes to join her team, and eager to promote her inventions, Karen turned her latest experiment on wormholes into a rift-generating horn, and the two joined Titans East as Bumblebee and the Herald!

"Wow, that was cool Herald!" exclaimed Impulse, scratching his chin for a second before dashing off, grabbing two of the frightened crooks on his way. A second later a red and white blur appeared on the top of a nearby building, where Bart stopped only long enough to drop his victims before instantly zooming back to his teammates' sides. "See, I can do it too!"

"Aw, _s---!_" exclaimed Roy Harper, slumping under the weight of his burden.

"Re_lax_ man," assured Mal as he rested the mouthpiece of his horn against his lips. "Herald's got it all under control." His lips puffed as he blew into the instrument-turned-weapon, and its deep, bellowing sound was accompanied by dual warp holes opening beneath the plummeting plunderers. As they fell in the holes closed, and a new portal opened on the ground, coughing up both robbers, who'd fainted before they had even left Impulse's grip.

Impulse looked at them sadly for a second before shrugging. "Guess I couldn't do it after all."

Roy's face was quickly turning the same hue as his costume out of frustration. "Don't you ever _think_?!"

"Sometimes," admitted Bart as he bit his lower lip in thought. "It usually just messes everythin' up though."

While Arsenal didn't see the humor in this, his teammates found it plenty funny—but it was a new voice that next spoke up. "Give the kid a break, Roy!"

Suddenly a large chunk of rock landed with an unceremonious thud next to the group—standing atop the boulder was a rail thin teenaged girl, with long, straight blonde hair and a pair of goggles perched atop her head. She wore a black shirt with a yellow 'T' in the middle, and a pair of tan khaki shorts. She looked frail and weak, but looks could be deceiving—after all, her powers controlled the very Earth itself! Though Titans East knew nothing of her past or history, they knew her name was Tara Markov—codenamed Terra!

"I mean," she continued with a grin, "If you'd have paid less attention to him and more to the criminals, they wouldn't be running away right now!" She stretched out her arm, and energy resembling a yellow flame started to emanate from her gloved hand. "Don't worry though, I've got it all under control!"

Indeed, the few remaining robbers that hadn't been mercilessly knocked unconscious were wisely trying to make an escape. However, as they ran the ground beneath their feet started to rumble, and then split as a wall of ten foot thick rock rose from the dirt and blocked their path. Not even giving them a chance to wet themselves in shock, Terra clenched her fist and the wall seemed to explode, pelting the thieves with pebbles and completely immobilizing them beneath a pile of rubble.

"Totally wicked!" exclaimed Impulse.

"Way to go galpal!" cheered Flamebird.

"That's still amazing no matter how many times I see it," marveled Bumblebee. "I really wish you'd let me study your powers sometime."

Tara cringed. "Uh…I'd rather not."

"You're late," interjected Arsenal, the only one not impressed by her appearance. "Where were you?"

"Around," replied the earthmover, not sarcastically, but just with a 'matter of fact' tone.

"_Around_," sighed Roy. "You're always just around. What the hell's that mean?"

"It means _around_," countered Tara, sticking out her tongue. "What's with the arrow up your butt, anyway? I'd always heard you were one of the _cool_ ones."

Arsenal chuckled. "I was, 'till I started hanging around you guys."

"Hold up, everybody," commanded Karen Beecher, tapping the side of her goggles as new readings came to life. "Something's not right here—I think I _hear_ something. Normally there wouldn't be any thugs left, but nothings been normal about this robbery so far anyway—Terra, did you see anything else strange when you got here?"

The tiny Titan didn't have any time to answer as the sound Bumblebee had heard made itself far too apparent in the form of three explosive rockets heading straight towards the six heroes! With only a few seconds to ready themselves, Bette Kane pulled out two plastic Flamebird figures from her belt—razor edged yellow blades shot out of both sides of each, making them roughly the shape of a boomerang.

"What're those?!" asked Bart Allen incredulously.

"Um…" replied Flamebird, blushing, "Flamebirdarangs?"

"Totally cool," replied the hyperactive speedster. "Those'll stop the missiles, definitely!" He wasn't being sarcastic—he fully believed his statement. Not as big of a fool as most assumed, Flamebird realized that if Impulse liked her plan, it would never work, and grinned dumbly as she tucked them back into her belt.

Fortunately, none of the Titans had to take action. As the rockets zoomed on their path, a staticy purple light formed around all three, and they suddenly veered off course, soaring into the sky before colliding, exploding on contact! The three final robbers, each with a rocket launcher hoisted over their shoulders, started to panic, but they didn't have any time to react one way or another as their weapons were surrounded by a similar halo, and each floated into the air and span into their owners' heads, knocking them out cold.

"Sorry I'm late guys," said a seventh figure meekly as she floated down from above her teammates. "At least I made it right in the nick of time, right?" This new arrival, the final member of Titans East, wore a skintight costume, covering all of her body below her neck. It was all light purple, besides a white hourglass shape across her chest. A long cloak of a darker purple fell from her shoulders, and her luscious blonde hair full of curls cascaded past her shoulders. She also wore a purple domino mask, though its lenses were transparent, letting her beautiful blue eyes show through.

"Not-relative!" exclaimed Flamebird as she dashed forward and latched herself onto the girl, giving her a gigantic hug. "Great to see you!"

"Yeah, Bette," replied the other Titan with a nervous smile, "Great to see you too."

As Bette Kane had implied, the new arrival wasn't her relative—though, since her name was Frances Kane, it was obvious why Flamebird had to specify. Frances was born in the small town of Blue Valley, Nebraska, and, for a while, led a pretty normal, if uneventful, life. However, this all changed when her mutant ability to control magnetism took effect at a most inopportune time: on a road trip with her father and brother.

Her first magnetic field sent their car careening off a cliff, killing her family and only sparing her. Fran was devastated, and then hurt even worse when her mother blamed her, calling her "possessed" and shunning her. Thus Frances tried to hide and suppress her powers for a while, until she discovered _he_ had become a super-hero! Well, if her first love could turn his tragedy around, so could she! She could use her hated powers for good!

And that was how the Titan known as Magenta was born!

"It sure is great to have the whole group together!" proclaimed a thrilled Flamebird, turning around 360 degrees to get a good look at them all. "So, you all gonna wait for the cops to show up and get our pics taken and stuff? I hope I look good for Robin!"

"I suppose I will," said Magenta softly. "It'll show everybody the _good_ my powers can do."

"Well, I don't have anything better to do," remarked Terra as she plopped onto a rock, using her powers to bounce pebbles off the side of a building.

Herald subconsciously shuddered at the thought of the cops. "Calm down, Mal," reassured Karen, "You're on their side now, remember?"

"Oh yeah," realized Malcolm. "Hard to get used to, y'know?"

Arsenal looked deep in thought, but with Impulse dashing around him in circles he certainly wasn't achieving anything. "Do you think the policeman would let me wear his hat?!"

"Sure," mumbled Roy, not paying the slightest attention to Bart. "Hey guys, didn't any of you get the impression that this was a really, really weird robbery? All the guys inside were running for the getaway car, yet they have a dozen more of 'em outside waiting for us, with _rocket launchers_ even?"

"Well, if somebody else was behind it," began Bumblebee, "Then this is probably him closing in—and whoever it is, he's big! I'm even getting minor seismic readings on this!"

"TITANS!"

Suddenly appearing into view was a massive creature, both in height and girth, made completely of metal. Every part of him, from his hair down to his toes, was various beam, nuts, screws and scrap fused together—and he didn't look too happy about it. "How dare you ruin my robbery!"

"I said it once, and I'll say it again," began Bette, wonder in her voice. "This is one elaborate crime!"

"F---!" exclaimed Arsenal.

"You kidding Roy?" Terra perked up as she pulled her goggles down over her eyes. "Now it's gonna get fun!"

"Damn straight," smiled the Herald as he twirled his horn in his hand.

"I'm on him!" With a sonic boom Impulse was exploding forward, faster than any of them could think, to even _begin_ to wonder who this guy was or what he could do! The creature swung his massive metal arm straight into the speedster's path, but he simply vibrated through it, not pausing for a second as he threw a punch into the rogue's stomach.

Bart screamed and fell backwards, having torn through his glove and skin with the rather stupid punch. Still, he dashed around the monolith several more times, throwing another punch and a kick before hobbling back to his teammates' sides at superspeed. "Grife! No matter how many times I him 'em it just hurts _me_, not him!"

"Of course," grumbled Roy as he turned towards the creature. "This is _your_ robbery? Just who the hell are you?!"

"Girder," growled the metal monster, "an' yeah, this was my job. If I'da thought _all_ of you would actually show I'dve hired more goons."

"Oh boy!" exclaimed Flamebird. "We've made a name for ourselves!"

Before anybody had a chance to point out that their reputation wasn't exactly good, Impulse again dashed by, a bucket in his hand. "RUST!" commanded the boy from the future as he tossed a bucket-full of water onto Girder. Zooming back and forth, each time accompanied by a thunder-like roar, he continued to douse the metal monolith, who just wasn't fast enough to tag the hyperactive hyper-speedster.

"Finally, a not half bad idea," laughed Arsenal. "Impulse—it's not enough! Go see if you can funnel some water from the bay!"

"Got it, mission commander!" exclaimed Bart as he barreled towards the closest body of water. On the horizon Titans East could see a funnel of water rising into the air—then collapse as Bart no doubt screwed up the process somewhere. Only a second later he tried again, and got the same exact outcome.

Tara snickered. "Yeah, that plan's _really_ gonna work, Roy."

"What's th' matter, Titans?" asked Girder tauntingly as he marched forward, every step seeming like an earthquake. "So scared of me that yer hidin' behind a little bo—"

Unable to even finish his sentence, the monster fell into a shimmering wormhole that instantly closed beneath him. The Herald moved his finger and hit a different note, opening a new portal that dropped Girder far above the New York skyline. "'Kay, guys, I set 'im up, you knock 'im down!"

"One step ahead of you, horn boy!" As Girder plummeted towards the ground like a twenty ton anvil, already the Earth was shaping itself to Terra's whim, a jagged boulder rising to meet the criminal. As they collided the stone exploded, hurling their metal opponent down the street.

"Everybody, together!" commanded Arsenal as he let four explosive arrows fly. Flamebird tossed several Flamebirdarangs into the fray, each blinking, ready to explode when they hit their target. Bumblebee pitched in as well, adding two sparking blasts of energy from the stingers built into her gloves. As hoped, all hit home at once, and Girder found himself flat on his back.

Francis Kane hoped to keep him there. Girder quickly found himself surrounded by an, appropriately, magenta aura that held his body still. Magnetic waves of the same color emanated from the Titan's hand as she floated over her opponent, cape billowing behind her, sweat running down her face.

"You're…metal…and _I'm_…a magnet," she said, trying to sound confident, maybe _threatening _even, but it was hard when she was straining so hard just to keep him down. "You're…not…getting…"

"Save it," grunted Girder, smiling as he threw his arms backwards and leapt to his feet, almost somersaulting, like an ape! "Don't be spoutin' off like that when you ain't got the goods to back it up, babe!"

As the metal monolith broke through her magnetic force with brute strength, Magenta was sent reeling, screaming as she sailed out of sight. Girder, meanwhile, leapt into the air, pulling both arms far behind his head, ready to crush his opponents into pulp.

"Wow," marveled Bette, her eyes wide, "_He's_ surprisingly agile."

Fortunately, one of Mal's portals opened above the monster, dropping half a dozen steel girders—the irony was intentional—atop the creature. As it hit the ground, yellow energy exploded beneath him, and Terra sent him flying as a boulder shot into the air.

The frail earth-mover took to the sky atop a small chunk of rock as she enveloped the metal enemy in a fierce whirlwind of rubble and dirt, slowly burying the criminal in a pile of earth. Tara circled around him, gritting her teeth and straining as hard as Fran had just moments earlier.

_'Don't lose control!'_ she thought desperately in her mind as her knees, then her whole body, started to shake. _'You can't lose control again, not again! It undoes everything you fight for! You can't! You can't run again!'_

"Y'know," mused Karen Beecher, "If I get close I bet I could run an analysis on this guy, find some sort of weak point!" Floating into the sky, her robotic wings buzzing, the cybernetics genius shrank down to the size of her namesake. "Wish me luck, guys!"

Meanwhile, as Terra's pile of dirt moved towards Girder's neck, the tiny Titan was slowly starting to lose it. The rock she'd been levitating on had fallen to the ground, and she was about to similarly fall onto one knee. _'No! You can handle it! It isn't too much!'_ Unfortunately, she was proven wrong as her power exhausted her, and the dirt prison she'd created started to crack under her own power even _before_ the metal monster broke free. Tara collapsed face first, utterly drained.

However, before he would attack his opponent he was struck by a tremendous pulse of stinging power. Behind him, Bumblebee grew to her full size, keeping up with the blast, not letting him _dare_ get an attack in!

"His name was Tony Woodward!" she announced, obviously having found the information she needed. "When he attempted to rape a co-worker, the others at his job threw him into a vat of molten metal—but they didn't know it came from a government facility and had been experimented on in numerous ways! He was reborn as…this metal monster! He doesn't need to eat, drink, sleep, or breathe—he feels no pain, and the scientists that have studied him don't think he can even die!"

"Then the punk won't mind hanging out at the bottom of the bay fer' a bit," grunted the Herald as he readied his horn, "'Till we can get somebody else to deal with 'im."

Suddenly his girlfriend was thrown backwards as Girder broke free of her attack, spinning and grabbing the Titan, enveloping her within his massive grip. "Stay outta' my business!" he cried as he wound up and tossed Bumblebee like a baseball. She collided with Mal, sending his horn flying and both of them hurling down the street.

"If you guys know what happened to me, then you know this money is all I have left!" cried the monster as he leapt towards the two remaining Titans. "How can you take that away from me?!"

Both Bette and Roy's eyes bugged. The heiress pulled a grappling launcher from her belt that sent a Flamebirdarang attached to a nearly unbreakable line flying into a building—it pulled her to a rooftop, where she somersaulted and landed on her feet, her hands in the air, like she was waiting for judges to give her a score.

Meanwhile, the steel bars on Arsenal's arms both popped open, revealing that they were, in fact, mounted crossbows! An arrow attached to a zip-line shot from one, and the agent similarly used it to pull himself into the air and out of Woodward's path.

"Shut up already!" cried Flamebird as she tossed two more of her projectiles—this time the Flamebird figures were wearing jackets, and as they collided with Girder's arm they exploded, coating it with a thick sheet of ice! "A bastard like you doesn't deserve to have anything!"

A panel on the side of Roy's quiver slid open, dropping a thin silver pole into his hand—he loaded it into his other crossbow, the one that _wasn't_ keeping him out of Girder's grip. "For once, I agree with Flamebird!" he cried as an arrowhead shaped spark of energy came to life at the end of the pole and the crossbow sent it sailing through the metal monster's frozen appendage, shattering it into tiny shards!

"Way to go Roy!" exclaimed Bette happily. "I say we go for a leg this time!" However, she wouldn't have a chance, as one of the girders Mal had teleported there was hurled into the rooftop and she was sent sailing across it. Girder had another in hand, and it flew through the spot Arsenal had been hanging from only a second before—meanwhile, the weapon master dropped to the ground, a different gun in each hand as he sent energy blasts flying into the monolith's side.

"That's pointless, kid," growled Girder as he marched towards the archer, blasts bouncing off his chest or doing small damage while he felt none of the pain. "Yer the last one standing—you can't beat me by yerself!"

Arsenal wasn't letting off of the shots from his government issued—and government exclusive—blaster guns, but he needn't worry about their effect, or lack of. Suddenly, a voice spoke up, familiar yet tainted with a deeper undertone. "Good thing he's not by himself!"

Girder then found himself suspended in mid-air, surrounded by Francis Kane's magenta halo, only this time it wasn't her typical, faint magnetic pulse, but a ball nearly twice the size of the metallic monster himself! Behind the villain, Magenta could be seen again on her feet, her hair standing on end, her cape billowing like she was in a hurricane, and her eyes filled only with purple. It was as if she was another person.

"Not-relative?" Rushing down the street, Flamebird brushed dirt from her uniform, and as her fellow Titan didn't respond, she only grew more concerned. "_Fran?!_"

"If you can't _feel_," the magnetic girl growled, her voice still sounding inhuman, "If you can't _die_, then you won't mind if I end this right now!" Throwing her arms to the side, Girder exploded, every nail pulled, every beam shattered, and in a second he was a pile of disjointed scraps on the ground. He didn't even have a chance to _scream_.

Then the energy in Fran's eyes disappeared as she moaned and dropped unconscious to the ground, the spike of unprecedented power now just a memory. "What the hell was that?" asked Arsenal incredulously.

"It's like she was…a whole 'nother person!" marveled Bette.

Suddenly, both were distracted by slow clapping. Looking up, they were greeted by an oddly dressed man standing on the tip of a small aircraft. "Bravo, Titans," said Jupiter slowly with a smile.

Aiming his gun toward the potential threat's head, Roy asked, "And who the hell are you?! Another ringleader?!"

Jupiter grinned. In truth, he _was_—but not the way Roy Harper thought. "My name is Mr. Loren Jupiter, and I'm the director of _'The Real World: Titans Tower'_! I saw your fight—recorded it, in fact, and it should be on television soon enough—and I have a proposition for you: How would you like to help out your idols, the Teen Titans themselves?!"

"Would we?!" Flamebird was beside herself. "There's no way we could turn down an offer like that!"

"Well there you go," smiled Roy. "You guys finally got what you wanted. I guess the others're gonna be thrilled…hey, you hear something?"

With a loud boom the street was instantly flooded, and a tiny boy in white and red tights zoomed over the water. "Cool, I finally got it right!" exclaimed Impulse as he happily dashed in circles through the flooded street. "That should unlock a bonus level for sure! Alternate costume at least!" However, looking about, the wild child found his opponent nowhere to be found. "Wait, where'd he go?"

His face turning red, Arsenal just screamed, "IMPULSE!"

**TITANS TOWER—TRAINING ROOM**

With a former circus star as one of its occupants, of course the Titans Tower training room was equipped with a trapeze—at the top, however, stood not the Titans' resident acrobat, but a smaller boy in a similar, but not identical costume.

Dick Grayson, the original Robin, instead stood on the ground, coaching his namesake, a mysterious partner of the equally mysterious—and infuriating—Batman. "C'mon little guy, you can do it! A triple somersault ain't that hard!"

"Says you," replied the young Robin with a frown. "Why can't I just use a grapple line like I do in Gotham?"

Sighing, Dick reasoned, "Cause that's not gonna do you much in a close quarters fight! 'Sides, you're here to learn trapeze, not how t'use gadgets!"

_Robin: "He's a smart kid, but maybe that's the problem. I think maybe he's just not used to stuff being hard for him—apparently he's such a good detective an' all that._

_"Not that I'd know about that. _Nothing's_ hard for me!"_

"Do not worry, little Robin!" called Dick's girlfriend, the beautiful alien Starfire. "I am quite confidant that you can do it—and if for some reason you cannot, we will be her to catch you!"

"Well," smiled the trainee, "I guess that makes me feel a little better." He wound his arms, and just as he prepared to leap, black exploded in the middle of the room. All three jumped as Raven appeared.

His face red, Dick was both angry and embarrassed. "S--- Raven, you could've killed us!"

"Good thing I didn't jump first," added the Robin on the trapeze quietly.

"I am…sorry," said the empath quickly. "I simply came to alert you of an urgent meeting Mr. Jupiter has called. He wishes for all of us to join him in the meeting room as soon as possible."

"Well," said Robin somewhat sadly, "Guess the lesson's up." Looking up towards the trapeze, he started to call out towards his student, but quickly noticed that the little guy had simply vanished! Suddenly a Batarang flew into the wall, with a note attached to the end. "Guess that ends that for now," read Dick. "See ya next time."

_Robin: "Forget acrobatics, I've gotta teach the kid not to be as big of a mysterious jerk as Batman is! Bad association!"_

"Oh well," shrugged Dick as he jogged to the locker room. "I'll be ready in a sec Kory—just gotta pack everything up!"

"Then I shall be on my way," said Raven as her cloak started to ripple. "I still have to alert all the others."

Koriand'r, without hesitating, called out, "Raven! Wait!"

_Starfire: "Raven is always so quick to run off—I do not wish to see her be so antisocial!"_

"What is it, Starfire?"

"Would you not like some assistance?" asked Kory. "Despite what you seem to think, you do not need to always do everything on your own."

_Raven: "Yes. Yes I do. I perhaps should have told her so much, but it is hard to be mean, sometimes even honest with Starfire. I can sense such caring and genuineness from her that I do not want to upset or risk corrupting that. It is such a rare quality on this world."_

"I appreciate your concern," quickly interjected the mysterious Titan, "But I will be able to handle it perfectly fine by myself."

"But you do not _have_ to!" exclaimed Starfire. "You have been wonderfully helpful in all our battles, but around the Tower you are barely to be seen! I cannot speak for the others, but Raven, _I_ would like to get to know you! I wish you would let us in!"

_Starfire: "Indeed, she is the only Titan I do not really know, and I do not understand why! I would like to be her friend as well!"_

Raven sighed and tried to speak for a second, but for once, maybe for the first time in her life, she was slightly flustered.

_Raven: "As I said, Starfire is extremely genuine. Unlike Speed, who is confused and selfish even with his 'love', she truly means what she says. Even if I told her how much better off she is _not_ knowing me, she would not listen. Her concern is…refreshing."_

"Fine," acquiesced the hooded girl. "I still have to locate Speed and Cyborg, but Beast Boy is in his room—you can alert him for me."

"Thank you!" exclaimed the jubilant Tamaranian as she dashed out the door. "And once the mission is over, you and I shall—oh, how do the Earth term go? Oh, yes—hang out!"

The empath wasn't anywhere near as excited as her teammate. "Wonderful," she said sarcastically as she followed, turning the opposite direction down the hall. Suddenly, she heard a voice calling out to her.

"Raven!"

_Raven: "Great. After that, this is exactly what I did _not_ need."_

Wally West, a specter of speed force energy, dashed to the side of the girl he so blindly loved. "I finally found you!"

"That is good," said the empath, "At least you saved me some work. Mr. Jupiter wishes to see us all for a meeting, immediately."

"Great," growled Speed. "But first, we _really_ need to—"

Not giving him a chance to speak, Raven pitched in with, "I know what you are going to say, Speed, and I have already told you how I feel _multiple_ times. You need to—"

"I know, I know," replied Wally, knowing as well exactly what _she_ would say, "But I just _can't_ stop loving you!"

_Speed: "She's a frigging empath, right? Can't she sense how I feel, how much I care about her? For somebody who faces emotions constantly, she sure can't relate to anybody!"_

"Then find another to love," commanded Raven as she started to be swallowed up by her own dark powers, using them to escape the awkward situation. As her gravely voice trailed off, she finished with, "It should not be too difficult."

Wally only hung his head.

_Speed: "Yeah, right. There's only one other girl who's ever cared about me, besides Aunt Iris, and we've been through all this garbage already. We _can't_ work it out."_

Meanwhile, Starfire emerged from the elevator and promptly knocked on the bedroom door of Garfield Logan, Beast Boy, the Titans resident shapeshifter and former member of the now defunct Doom Patrol. "Unless you're Cyborg, come in!"

"Is that not a little harsh, Garfield?" asked his alien visitor, not even waiting until she was fully in the room to ask her question. "He was only trying to help you."

_Beast Boy: "Yay. My conscience is bothering me enough as it is without Kory being a second one. She'll have me on her side in no time, heh."_

Lying on the bottom bunk of his cluttered bed, his stereo running in the background, Gar opened one eye. "Yeah, but he was treating me like a kid. Everybody treats me like a kid around here, Kory."

"Well, you are the youngest one of us."

"Yeah," continued the green kid with a sigh, "But I've also been a superhero the longest—even longer than _Donna_, though she wouldn't believe it."

"Wow, I was not aware of that!" Koriand'r looked genuinely surprised. "But, then, why do you act so…so…"

Garfield Logan sighed. "Just living down to expectations Kory."

_Beast Boy: "Nobody's gonna treat me seriously no matter what I do, so why should I even try to be mature?"_

"Anyway," interjected Gar as he continued, "I'm not even mad at Vic anymore. I just really want him to come make up, y'know? For once I'm not gonna be the one who just gives in to make everything better!"

_Starfire: "I can understand not wanting to sacrifice your principles, but I do not see how his inaction will help. Still, I have been on Earth long enough to see that perhaps some tact is required in this situation."_

As the beautiful alien pondered this, the lyrics of Beast Boy's music rolled into her head. "Gar, what sort of song is this?!"

_Starfire: "The lyrics had derogatory and angry words towards women. It did not seem very respectful! Good thing Donna was not there…" _

"Ben Folds Five—Song for the Dumped," rattled off Gar as he finally climbed out of his bed. "The ultimate break up song, Kory. Girl did him wrong, and he's freaking _pissed!_"

_Beast Boy: "Was listening to it in honor of Matt."_

"And this is how you would react?" inquired Starfire, concerned.

"I guess not," Garfield replied with a shrug, "But it's what every guy thinks. After what your sister did to Matt, and just seeing a lot of girls and hearing a lot of stories and stuff…well, I mean I like girls, but I _don't_ like how they _act_ a lot…I'm starting to wonder if love's even worth it…"

Princess Koriand'r smiled—nearly beamed. _She_ certainly knew it was. "Do not worry Gar—you will find love when the time is right."

_Starfire: "It is a shame to have to say this, but living on Earth I can understand why Gar could feel that way. However, he is just young—when he finds the right girl, he will realize how wonderful love really is!"_

However, the fact that she had come there to bring him to Jupiter's meeting, which had slipped her mind because of the discussion, suddenly reemerged. "Oh my! Gar, we must go!" Grabbing the lanky boy's hand, she took to the air and zoomed down the hallway.

"What is this?!" he cried as his eyes watered. "Miss Kory's wild ride?!"

**HALLWAY OUTSIDE THE MEETING ROOM**

Waiting for their teammates to arrive, Robin, Cyborg, Speed and Raven stood outside the meeting room doors. Suddenly Starfire came barreling into sight, Beast Boy hanging onto her hand for dear life!

"Yo Gar!" called Robin jokingly, "What're you doing with my girl?!"

Garfield blushed slightly, while Dick's girlfriend leapt onto the acrobat, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Oh Dick, you are so silly!"

_Robin: "And she loves it so much, man."_

Cyborg looked toward his green friend for a second, but as Gar caught sight, he looked away. "You guys haven't made up yet?" asked Dick as he observed their interaction. "C'mon man, you guys're tight! Just say sorry or something."

"I can't," grumbled Vic as he crossed his arms. "Gar's mad cause I treated him like a kid, tried to help when I just needed to mind my _own_ business. I gotta just let him get his anger outta his system and come to me first, 'stead of butting in again."

_Cyborg: "That's gotta be the only way to make it up to him—it's all _I_ can figure out at least. Still can't believe I screwed up that bad!"_

Koriand'r knew that Vic, even if his thinking was quite logical, still had the wrong idea, but before she could speak up the stair door slammed as Wonder Girl floated into the room. "What's this meeting about?!" Though she attempted to hide it, it was obvious she was agitated.

Wally frowned. "If you don't know, how the hell should we? Why're you so freaking pissed anyway? I mean, more so than usual?" Donna just frowned at him.

_Wonder Girl: "It's because my afternoon with Terry was interrupted obviously, but I can't let them know that. None of these guys would understand—they'd just joke about it or judge me!"_

"Now now my Titans, no need to fight!" Standing in the doorway was finally Mr. Loren Jupiter, for all intensive purposes, the Titans' "boss". "I have called you here because I've finally come up with a mission for you!"

_Speed: "About time. Wasn't he talking about doing that, like, back when we first got together?"_

As the seven Teen Titans followed the director into the meeting room, however, they were greeted with seven more teenaged costumed heroes sitting on the opposite side of the table! "What's this?" asked Victor Stone with a raised eyebrow.

"Teen Titans, meet Titans East, your assistants on this mission!"

Some of the heroes felt indignant or that Jupiter just felt they needed help, but several felt more.

Donna Troy did a double take, then laughed out loud as she recognized one of the members. "_Speedy?!_"

Wally, meanwhile, was slightly more shocked. "_Fran?!_"

Garfield Logan, however, nearly melted. As he saw the tiny blonde haired angel in the black t-shirt, khaki shorts and goggles sitting directly across from him, his heart felt like it would break free of his chest. His knees wobbled, his mouth went dry, and he had the most peculiar feeling that, if he tried to speak, nothing would have came out.

_Beast Boy: "Holy crap! Forget what I told Kory—I understand what she meant now! Just…holy crap! I think I'm in love!"_

Next time: First Love, Old Flames, and Fan-girl Crushes!


	11. First Love, Old Flames & Fangirl Crushes

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and those characters and those in Titans East are owned by DC Comics

OOC: Sorry for the huge gap between chapters here. As I said, Super Smash Brothers Brawl is the main culprit for this chapter taking longer than some of the others. The Booster Gold Showcase also had a lot to do with it. Anyway, hopefully I can churn out the next chapter a lot faster—look for the action to really pick up then, too! Enjoy, and be sure to leave me a comment so I know what you think! Thanks!

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and those characters and those in Titans East are owned by DC Comics. It is with great respect to them, as well as other Titans writers and the staff of the animated series, that I use their creations.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 11: First Love, Old Flames, and Fangirl Crushes!**

**ROLE CALL:**

**THE TEEN TITANS—Teenage heroes and reality TV stars:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

**TITANS EAST—Teenage heroes aiming for fame, fortune, and the honor of being a true Teen Titan!:**

**Flamebird—**Bette Kane: Spoiled rich heiress, athlete, and Robin fangirl.

**Arsenal—**Roy Harper: Former bad-boy sidekick and current government agent and weapon master with perfect aim.

**Impulse—**Bart Allen: Hyperactive super speedster from the future with no sense of danger.

**Bumblebee—**Karen Beecher: Cybernetic genius with an insect themed power suit.

**The Herald—**Malcolm Duncan: Ex-thug armed with a wormhole generating horn.

**Terra—**Tara Markov: Mysterious wanderer with control over the very Earth itself!

**Magenta—**Francis Kane: Timid girl possessing tremendous magnetic power.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

**ON THE AIR—TITANS TOWER, MEETING ROOM. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA**

"Well well, I see some of you know each other," said Mr. Loren Jupiter, director of _'The Real World: Titans Tower'_, smiling smugly as he watched the two teams of Titans meet for the first time. To put it bluntly, he was being the same smarmy bastard he always was—he knew full and well the relationships between the members on both teams—he wouldn't have brought them onto the show if he hadn't!

"Not as well as I'd like to," smiled Flamebird. Winding up her arms, she leapt into the air, soaring towards Robin like a cat would its prey. Landing on his chest, she knocked him flat on his back and planted her lips firmly on his—the kiss was sure to drive the episode's rating up to 'TV-M.'

_Robin: "Holy f--ing s--! She knows how to kiss! Seemed kinda familiar too…"_

_Starfire: "Amazing. The first person on Earth who is as open with their emotions as a Tamaranian goes after my boyfriend! Teamwork shall be most difficult with this one…"_

_Beast Boy: "Jeez, she moves faster than Wally does! Yes, that's a pun about his super speed…_I _thought it was funny at least…"_

Dick's eyes were starting to glaze over before Koriand'r pulled the girl off him. "What do you think you are doing?!"

"Saying hello," mumbled Flamebird as she tried to pry open the Tamranian's grip, but the heiress's strength barely even _began_ to be enough to break free. "Will you let go already?"

"You have an odd way of saying hello," remarked Kory as she dropped the girl.

With a smirk Flamebird explained, "I just figured he'd recognize me best that way!"

_Robin: "She had a point—I _never_ forget a kiss! Just took me a second, but the strawberry lip gloss combined with that kinky little thing she does with her tongue was a dead giveaway!"_

"You're that chick Deathstroke took hostage, aren't you?!" As she eagerly nodded yes, Dick further inquired, "Since when have you been a superhero?"

"Since Daddy bought me some equipment and this costume!" she exclaimed, face beaming. "Name's Flamebird, but you can call me Bette—Bette Kane!"

Confused, the object of her affection asked, "But didn't your mom—"

"Yes, mother sent me out East to 'straighten up', but Daddy doesn't listen to her if he doesn't wanna—not when his baby girl needs something! And I definitely needed to see Robin again—and what better way to catch your attention than with a little super-heroics of my own?"

Clearing his throat, Jupiter added, "Indeed, it seems the Titans East was created simply as a way for these fans to meet all of you—and how could I turn a blind eye to such endeavors?!"

_Wonder Girl: "Very easily. You don't become a superhero for selfish reasons like that! Fame and fortune are what the villains want!"_

"You too, Speedy?" Donna Troy floated over a crimson clad archer, decked out with his bow, quiver, and over a dozen other weapons. "It's not like you haven't met heroes before."

"Har har," grumbled Roy Harper as he pulled a badge from his belt and slapped it onto the table for the half-Amazon to read. "Things change, and I left Speedy behind when I cleaned up my life, Donna. I'm agent Roy Harper of Checkmate now, but if you want a codename, call me Arsenal."

Wonder Girl's eyes shot open wide. "But what about your secret identity?"

"Don't need one anymore, thanks to Deathstroke. You forget or something?"

_Wonder Girl: "Hera, I did, if only for a moment! Roy was once the partner of Green Arrow, and for a time Green Arrow, in his civilian identity of Oliver Queen, operated as Mayor of Star City on the side! Political enemies of his hired Deathstroke to find dirt on Ollie, and did he ever! Deathstroke barely escaped with his life, and the IDs of both Green Arrow and Roy became public knowledge!_

_"I guess it's easy to forget, because Ollie operates even better now—he never was much of one for secrets. And Roy, well, he dropped off the radar not long after that—I heard he was having _drug_ problems…"_

Starting to smile just a tad bit, Roy continued. "And no, I'm not like them. I've been assigned to keep an eye on these guys."

"Doesn't look like you're doing a very good job," replied Donna with a small chuckle as she glanced towards Robin and Flamebird.

_Wonder Girl: "Not that I was complaining, mind you. Actually, I'd have paid to see Dick get a taste of his own flirtatious medicine like that—I wish I had it on tape!"_

"_You_ try keeping a wild group like this in check constantly," challenged Arsenal. "Ain't as easy as you'd think, even for a girl wonder like you."

"Hey, just look at my team. Believe me, I know—it _isn't_."

Pulling down his sunglasses slightly for a better look, Roy simply replied with a crooked smile. He'd only met Donna once or twice before he quit being Speedy, but she hadn't changed a bit—she still had the same old attitude, same arrogance…and she was still just as hot!

"I didn't do this for the fame either Wally, you know that." Wally West, avatar of the mythical Speed Force, was stunned as he stared at the beautiful blonde in the purple costume who had spoken the words. She was the _last_ person Speed _ever_ thought he'd see in a superhero costume!

"Then, why _did_ you? Fran, you _hated_ your powers…"

_Speed: "Francis Kane, Fran…was my best friend growing up. She was the first girl I ever loved—before Raven, the _only_. I once said that my Aunt Iris made me remember that there could be at least one good person in a world of idiot and jerks, but that wasn't really fair—there was always _Fran_ too. She's one of the most timid, decent, kind people I know._

_"That's why what happened to her just wasn't fair! Apparently she had hidden magnetic powers, that appeared when she was driving with her father and brother. They hurled their car off a cliff, and only Fran survived. Fran's mother blamed her for the accident, and was convinced she was possessed. Poor Fran, she was crushed. I _tried_ to help her, but it was so hard. She hated her powers so much, and they drove a wedge between us._

_"I wish I could've helped more, but it wasn't much longer after that I had my accident and…well, dammit, I got preoccupied with that. I should've gone an' seen her, or called, or _something_, but I was too freaking wrapped up in myself again! Why would she even come back to me?"_

"I did, Wally," began Fran, now also known as Magenta, "But I'm starting to get the hang of them. All I'd been doing was feeling sorry for myself, letting myself be swallowed up in my grief…but then I saw you, and the horrible things that'd happened to _you_, and how you still became a superhero anyway! I couldn't keep kicking myself when you were doing great things with the powers that ruined _your_ life!"

The speed specter's energy jaw dropped.

_Speed: "She…doesn't know what she's saying…I didn't want to be a hero at all, she can't look up to me like that! Aw I feel horrible!"_

_Wonder Girl: "Has she even been watching the show? Wally only came here in the first place to spite the Flash, and, well, I don't know _why_ he came _back_, but I'm sure it wasn't altruism!"_

"Wow Fran, that's…that's amazing." Wally was truly struck, not to mention dumbfounded, but the new sensations wouldn't last for long as a black, bird shaped shadow suddenly loomed over him. Only a second later, Raven was standing in-between the two.

"Would you like to introduce me to your friend, Speed?" In response, Wally growled as he tried to compose himself.

_Speed: "And then we have Raven. Some part of me loves that girl so f--ing much, yet I just want to hit her, just want to forget she exists—but I can't! I keep running back to her, and she keeps shooting me down!_

_"For once, I think I'm gonna take some of her advice—she said to find somebody else to love. I'm sure as hell gonna try—Fran didn't come back into my life for nothing!"_

_Raven: "The affection between Speed and Magenta is…palpable. They once loved each other—maybe they truly stopped, or maybe they just fooled themselves into believing that—but there is still affection there. From Speed I am sensing something I have rarely, if ever, felt from him: hope, hope that he and her can again have the relationship they once had._

_"Still, he also feels fear. There is something that severed their first attempt at love—while they both seem to have hidden it deep within their psyches, it definitely was not Speed's accident—ironically, this may just be the first time he had not blamed something on his not having a body. Of course, Speed is also feeling resentment for me, and I cannot blame him, but I truthfully just hope he finds what he needs…"_

"Uh, hi. I'm Fran, but the other Titans, they call me Magenta. You're?"

"She's Raven," growled Speed, turning so he faced away from the dark empath. "She was just leaving, right?"

"WALLY!" Before the twisted love triangle could carry itself any further a tiny kid dressed in white and red, with tremendous feet and a head so full of hair it was almost a mane, tackled the speed specter, knocking him to the ground. "Boy, is it good to see you!"

Frowning, Wally West let his solidified energy body dissolve, and lightning erupted around the wild child—Impulse—hiding both within a ball of sparking power.

**OFF THE AIR**

"What'd you do man?" Impulse looked back and forth as a whirlwind of Speed Force churned around him, like the speedster was standing in the eye of a tornado. "Whatever it is, it's totally cool!"

"I added to your speed to hide us in energy for a few seconds," explained Wally, his voice echoing from all directions. "It'll keep the cameras in me off us long enough for me to tell you how freaking stupid you are! Do you want to blow your cover?!"

Bart Allen looked confused for a second, scratching his head until a lightbulb almost literally lit within his scattered brain. "Oh yeah, that secret identity thing!"

"Exactly. People find out you're my cousin, and it won't be long 'til they realize Uncle Barry's your grandpa _and_ the Flash—and honestly I couldn't care less 'bout him anymore, but if he's outed then so's Aunt Iris, and I won't let you do that to her!"

"Woah, I love gramma!" Impulse was offended. "I'm cool, I won't blow anything! Honest!"

Things started to return to normal as Speed's body slowly began to reform itself. "Better not."

Crossing his arms, Bart looked at his cousin out of the corner of his eye and stuck out his tongue. "Jerk."

**ON THE AIR**

"What was that?!" Standing above the two speedsters was a man half flesh, half machinery: Victor Stone, the Teen Titan called Cyborg. "Your energy readings were off the charts!"

As they both climbed to their feet, Wally answered, "Wasn't prepared for all that speed, and my energy surged a bit. Nothing we couldn't handle."

_Cyborg: "Well, doesn't really seem like it makes any scientific sense, but then again nothin' people like Wally and the Flash and Impulse can do does, so no reason to get picky now."_

"'Kay…" Shrugging, Vic turned towards Bart. "So, you know Wally too?"

Impulse's eyes bulged, and he panicked. He scratched his head, his eyes darted, and he stuttered over several words before dashing off, reappearing only a second later with a thin, blonde girl in a black T-shirt in his grip. "Say hi to everybody, Terra!"

Blushing, she timidly waved. "Um, hey?"

Wally smacked himself in the face, while Vic and the others simply looked confused. "Hi, Terra. Impulse, you didn't really answer my question…"

"She can throw rocks!" replied the boy with boundless enthusiasm, grinning nervously. It was as if he was holding an entirely separate conversation in his head.

_Cyborg: "Let's just hope this kid never needs to keep a secret…"_

"So," snickered Speed, "Rock throwing is considered a super power now?"

Tara Markov rolled her eyes. "I have _terrakinesis_—I move rock with my mind. There's a lot more to that than just 'throwing rocks.'"

"Tomato tomahtoh," dismissed Impulse.

"Woooooooooah," whistled Cyborg, "How'd a little girl like you come across powers like _that_?!"

Her smile was instantly gone, and Terra lowered her head, her long blonde hair slightly obscuring her face. "Nowhere _good_." Hoping to change the subject, she quickly found something to easily distract everybody. "What's up with the green kid?"

Indeed, _something_ was up. Beast Boy stood stiff, like he was 'at attention' in the army, but his eyes were hazy, and his jaw hung limp, drool dangling from his lip. "You okay?" asked the earth-mover, poking him in the forehead.

_Beast Boy: "Yeah, I'm fine…I'm just in love. Which, of course, means I'm gonna be too stupid to say anything back…"_

Gar mumbled slightly, and Terra chuckled.

"So, you've got a little scientific curiosity now too?" Looking over his shoulder, Victor Stone saw that he was being addressed by a girl in a bee suit! "Nice to see a literal man of science such as yourself doesn't take it for granted."

"Not anymore," replied the half-robot with a small smile. "So, you're…"

A roar comparable to that of a 747 Jet filled the air as Impulse zoomed to her side. "She's Bumblebee! She shrinks down into a real bumblebee, and spreads pollen and stuff!"

"Not even close, whiz kid," chuckled Bumblebee as she pushed the speedster to the side slightly. "I'm just wearing a suit that replicates the ability of a bee, but makes them _dangerous_—I can fly, and I've got enhanced strength, stinger blasts on my arms, and the ability to shrink down to bug size, but retain the same strength!"

_Cyborg: "Impressive—oddly specific, but impressive. Of course, looking at this team, I can't help but wonder if she stole it from somewhere or somethin'"_

"Of course, I designed it all myself from scratch," bragged the girl as she extended her hand. "Karen Beecher, cybernetics expert at STAR Labs."

_Cyborg: "Damn. I stand corrected!"_

"You know, I helped your parents create all your cybernetic body parts back when I was just an intern! It's nice to see you're putting their gift to good use!"

Vic was starting to get embarrassed. "Uh, thanks? Same to you, I guess."

Blushing, Karen chuckled. "Thanks, but as much as I'm helping people, I'm also really hoping some companies are impressed with my work. I really want to get it out there and show people what I can do, you know?"

_Wonder Girl: "Jeez, did anybody besides Magenta join this team just to help people?"_

"Yo babe, you haven't introduced me!" Suddenly a young man in a blue hood and a horn in his hand stepped between the two, his arms crossed in annoyance.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she quickly said. "Vic, this is Mal Duncan—the Herald. I created his horn, which can open teleportation rifts in space!"

Grinning from ear to ear, Malcolm grabbed Bumblebee by the shoulder and pulled her close. "She's also my girlfriend."

Laughing slowly, uneasily, Cyborg gave them a thumbs up. "Congrats?"

_Cyborg: "They're sure an…odd couple, to say the least. And what's with Mal all getting between us? It's crazy, but I think he thinks I'm after Bumblebee! What, just 'cause we were talking? Or is it just cause we're all black he thinks I like her? That's just stupid. He's as jealous as Starry—and at least she has a good reason!"_

"So Robin, are you impressed?!" Flamebird again got up into the acrobat's face, severely invading his personal space. "I became a super-hero just because of you!"

"Well," stammered Dick Grayson, "I'm definitely flattered…"

_Robin: "But even if I wasn't dating Kory, I'd never go after a nut-job like that! She's one of those chicks that'd go all stalkerish on ya'—I'd wake up in the middle of the night and she'd be out in the bushes, lookin' through my window with binoculars or somethin'! No way!"_

"Alright!" Bette Kane nearly exploded from the excitement building up within her athletic body. "We should totally go out tonight and we can fight crime together, and you can share some tips with me, and maybe catch some dinner or—"

"Excuse me!" Suddenly Starfire had taken action, and really, who could blame her? "Dick already has a girlfriend!"

Flamebird was crestfallen, like every hope and dream she ever had had been bent over the alien's knee and snapped in half. "Dick…you're dating _her?!_"

_Raven: "My, that was certainly a strong surge of indignation coming from Flamebird. Just the sheer amount of entitlement she feels is astounding—I do not think there is anything she has _ever_ wanted she had not gotten! Perhaps Robin is arrogant, maybe even spoiled as well, but at least he knows how to work for what he wants, such as when he fought Deathstroke. I do not think Flamebird has ever had to work for anything…ever."_

"Okay my Titans…the time for introductions has passed." Trying his best to look serious and demand attention, Mr. Jupiter leaned over the large, round table. "You'll have plenty of time to talk when we're done, but for now I need to brief you on the mission."

"So, there is a mission?" Donna asked. "About time you got to it."

_Wonder Girl: "If we were just here to meet these guys, I'd be pretty disappointed. I mean, it interrupted my…'lunch' with Terry, and I was actually enjoying that!"_

"Of course you have a mission," continued Jupiter. "Why just let Titans East come and meet you when they can assist you on your mission?! They get some experience and the chance to _work_ with you, and you get some needed help!"

"Needed?!" Dick scoffed. "I dunno who you're talking about, but we don't need any help—no way."

Snickering, Jupiter flipped a switch and an image of eight figures came to life on a display screen on the far wall of the meeting room. "Maybe, maybe not, but this will be, by far, the toughest threat you've ever faced, my Titans. The team you are going to take down has committed crimes all over the world, nuked an entire country, evaded capture by various super-hero teams for years—"

"They murdered my family." Silence fell across the room as fourteen faces turned towards Beast Boy, who had finally roused from his hormone-induced coma. Instead of infatuation, his face showed a year's worth of pent-up anger. "The Brotherhood of Evil killed the Doom Patrol!"

_Beast Boy: "I was only seven when my parents were killed while doin' some research in Africa. I already had my powers, and I _still_ couldn't save them! Things were pretty tough then, but I managed to survive and meet up with the Doom Patrol a few years later._

_"The DP was never like the League, or even the Titans now. They were really a family. The Chief was like the grandpa, he really knew what was going on and told us what to do. He was a surgeon called Niles Caulder who was paralyzed and in a wheel chair. Robot-man and Negative Man were like my uncles. Cliff was a robot, kinda like Vic 'cept with no skin left, and man was he a riot. Larry was more of a downer, real _negative, _y'know? He had some sort of dark energy guy livin' in him he could attack with—it was totally cool._

_"But I was closest to Mento and Elasti-Girl—Steve Dayton and Rita Farr. They adopted me, and raised me the best they could for bein' part of a super-hero team known for fighting the super bizarre. Steve was real strict, but hey, I'm such a goof-off I'm sure I needed it—Rita more'n made up for it anyway. They could never replace my parents, but I was more than happy to call them mom and dad._

_"Of course, the Doom Patrol's arch-enemies, the Brotherhood of Evil, killed them too! Again, I couldn't do anything to stop it! I've lost two families now…and now I finally have a chance to do somethin' about it, and I'm totally going to go Rambo on these guys!"_

"Exactly why I chose to target them," explained Loren Jupiter. "If I can help a member of my team, I'm going to!"

"We'll all help," stated Robin solemnly. "I promise you Gar: They're going _down_."

_Robin: "After all, I know a thing or two about losing family myself. Revenge can't being 'em back, but it sure as hell helps you feel better—I know that much from experience."_

"So, do we have a battle plan?" asked Wonder Girl, frowning with her arms crossed. "Or are we just planning on running in there and beating them up?"

The manipulative director smiled. "Of course! I have faith that with your numbers alone you should be able to stop them, but they'll be very hard to contain afterwards."

"So, handcuffs aren't going to work?" asked Dick, grinning as he dangled a pair in the air.

"Um, Dick, why are your handcuffs covered in pink fur with black spots?" As Starfire voiced her genuine confusion, Donna buried her head in the palm of her hand and Vic tried to stifle a laugh.

Not even trying to suppress his amusement, Dick just replied with, "Well, let's just say they're 'multipurpose'."

"Ooh, I have a pair just like that!" exclaimed Flamebird happily, which only made Robin blush.

"Handcuffs will be enough for _some_ of them," began Jupiter, "but for some you're going to need the special weapons I have my boys at the lab working on right now to restrain the rest. It'll still be a few more hours until that's done, so you guys should have plenty of time to get to know each other better—but first, let's get down to business. Here's everything you need to know about the Brotherhood of Evil…"

**LATER—TITANS TOWER, TRAINING ROOM**

"So why the Titans?" Several of Robin's training dummies were placed throughout the training room, each with a target painted on its chest—as an arrow shot gracefully into a perfect bullseye, Roy Harper waited for an answer to his question.

Donna Troy wasn't impressed by his arching aptitude. "What do you mean? Why the Titans instead of the Justice League or something?" Arsenal nodded, then stuck his tongue out of the side of his mouth slightly as he let three arrows fly at once—each one struck a bullseye. "There's not much to it, really," she explained. "The Teen Titans are a chance for me to really make a name for myself leading these guys."

"You sure that's it?" Roy's smile just aggravated the half-Amazon. "Y'sure it's not just 'cause you feel like nobody will notice you on the League because your sister's around?"

Frowning, she simply replied with a mumbled, "You think you know everything…" Suddenly she grabbed the archer's bow and several arrows from his quiver.

_Wonder Girl: "Of course, he actually got that _right_, damn him."_

"I don't know everything, but I know _you_." Taking delight in his constant trumping of Donna, Roy continued. "I mean, I was a side-kick too, remember? Of course, Ollie and I had…_different_ problems."

"Is that why you quit?" Finally Wonder Girl had a question of her own.

"Nah, that was the drugs," replied Arsenal casually. "Of course, the problems Ollie and I had were half of the reason I got on _them_, but still…"

_Wonder Girl: "Hera. I had heard the rumors about him—we _all_ did—and honestly, I didn't really doubt that they could be true. But I never thought he would just come out and admit it!"_

"Y'see, once I finally got clean, I wanted to help out other kids that had got themselves into the same messes I did, and the government helped set me up as an agent to work in the drug shelters and rehabs, plus to fight in the field against traffickers and the like. Of course, sometimes they really need an agent like myself for assignments in the meta-human community and…well, here I am, unfortunately."

"Fascinating," said Donna Troy. Though, for once, she actually meant it, she was paying more attention the arrow she was lining up in Roy's bow.

Crossing his arms and shifting his weight, Arsenal laughed. "You really think you can use that?"

_Wonder Girl: "Cocky. Well, sometimes actions can speak louder than words!"_

Letting this credo ring true, Donna released her grip on the arrow and watched it fly straight into one of the dummies—it was a perfect shot! Roy was dumbfounded.

"Why so shocked, Speedy? Archery's the most popular sport on Themyscara."

Roy Harper was able to laugh at this, but it didn't mean he was going to be shown up so easily! The agent turned around, facing_ away_ from the targets, and pulled out a two guns, one in each hand. "Yeah, but can you do this?" Reaching both arms behind his back, Arsenal fired out several blind shots with each gun. One fired bullets, one laser shots, but it needn't matter which projectile it was—every single one split an arrow in half and landed a second bullseye!

Donna shook her head, trying to hide her smirk. "Show off."

"C'mon, you guys!" Suddenly both Titans were pulled off in a blur of red and white, and a second later found themselves sitting in bleachers, dragged there by the fastest kid alive himself—Impulse! "The fight's about to start!"

The small bleachers faced a boxing ring—in one corner stood Dick Grayson, Robin, with his girlfriend, Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran, standing at his side. In the other stood Bette Kane, Flamebird, and though the space beside her was empty, only a moment later it was filled by Impulse, his wild mane of hair still falling into place though he'd already skidded to a stop.

"C'mon Bette, you can do it!" exclaimed the speedster.

"Of course," smiled Flamebird, "Though I'm surprised I have to. I mean, it's _me_, _plus_ I became a super-hero just to impress him! Still, if he really thinks I'm not up to it…"

"I just wanna see what she can do," explained Robin, patting his bronze-skinned, alien girlfriend on the shoulder reassuringly. "It's nothing to get jealous about!"

_Robin: "I thought it was pretty obvious you just can't say, "Hey, I should be a super hero," and become one! Maybe everybody forgets it, but I work hard to stay in shape for this, and I worked hard even back at the circus. Sure, I love the fame and the chicks, but if that's all you care about in this line a work, you're not gonna live long…"_

"I am not jealous," insisted Starfire, crossing her arms and turning her head. "I am simply annoyed that she still wishes to pursue you!"

_Starfire: "Indeed, it seems she will not take no for an answer. Even this fight is probably indulging her too much—I believe she interprets any attention at all as affection!"_

Laughing, Dick nimbly jumped atop the ring's ropes and used them to propel himself into the air. "Try not to get too jealous while I'm busy, Kory!"

"I am _not_ jealous!"

_Robin: "She's _so_ hot when she's jealous."_

"Go, not-relative!" cried Magenta from the stands—of course, for a timid girl like her, it wasn't much louder than her speaking voice. She looked over towards Wally, figuring she'd have to explain the nickname, but it looked as if he wasn't paying attention at all! "Wally, what's wrong? Why aren't you watching the fight?"

"'Cause I don't care about the fight, Fran," sighed Speed, his head hanging low. "I still just can't believe that me and you are back together again, and you're using your powers. I never thought you'd use your powers again!"

Frances Kane chuckled, her nose scrunching as she covered her mouth. "I guess it's not like me at all, huh? But come on, I did this because of you, and _for_ you. Let's just enjoy ourselves, okay?"

There was nothing more Wally West wanted in the world than to just enjoy himself—unfortunately, it just wouldn't work that way. "But Fran, what about…well, you know…your _problem_."

_Speed: "Fran's magnetic powers were a curse in more ways than one. They hurt her so bad, that when I found out that there was no cure, I just couldn't stay and watch her get hurt over and over again. Maybe I was selfish, maybe it was wrong, but I just couldn't stay with her after that. And if it's still a problem…I dunno, I'm even _weaker_ now…I don't think I could go through it again!"_

Magenta was confused. "What problem?"

"WALLY!" Before Wally could even _try_ to figure out how Fran could have forgotten, his little cousin turned his microscopic attention span on the speed specter. "C'mon Wally, watch the fight!" As Bart Allen forcibly turned his big cousin's head towards the ring, his young face filled with a gleeful smile, Speed seethed.

Fran, however, just laughed. Her pure laughter made Wally's face soften.

_Speed: "Maybe…maybe I need to stop worrying. Fran doesn't remember it, and she's here, in a costume, using her powers, and there's nothing wrong! Yeah, I definitely worry too much—but seeing her laugh like that, I can forget about out past, I can forget about Raven, I can even get over this brat up here jerkin' my head around…_

_"Okay, so maybe I'm still pissed at Impulse…but he deserves it!"_

Somersaulting through the air, Dick Grayson only narrowly missed his first kick. His opponent rolled backwards, then leapt to her feet—she was a red blur as she threw attacks right and left, never tiring. Gritting his teeth, the acrobat slapped aside most of Flamebird's strikes before leaping over her.

_Robin: "'Kay, she's definitely got enough energy, and she's fast enough, and strong enough, but where'd she learn to fight?! Her moves are strong enough by themselves, but she's got no style to them! She's got no flow!"_

"Man Bette, what kinda style is that?!"

"Flamebird style!" proudly proclaimed Bette Kane, to the shock, but not surprise of the audience. Not stopping as she talked, Flamebird threw a punch and continued, "When I decided I was gonna be a superhero, I knew I'd have to fight, so I just started going out and learning how to fight stuff! Never had a single lesson!"

_Robin: "Figures."_

Turning out of the way of one of her punches, Dick grabbed her arm and hurled the heiress over his shoulder—and out of the ring! "Lesson one, Bette: Don't talk too much when you're tryin' to fight!" Flamebird started to blush. "But don't worry…you have a lot of potential, and a lot of guts! You'll be fine!"

_Robin: "Someday. She'll be fine someday—for now she totally doesn't have enough experience. But y'know what? She's gonna be coming on the mission no matter what, so I'm totally not going to break her heart. Piss off a girl and they'll make ya miserable for the rest of the day, right? 'Sides, she's still too hot to make too mad!"_

Bette's heart practically exploded from her chest. "Oh Dick, thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou—"

"But perhaps you would like to fight me, Bette?" interrupted Kory as she floated into the ring. "Your enemies will not hold back in real life, and neither will I!"

"Yeeeeeeeeah," Robin slyly slid between his two suitors. "That's probably not a good idea, Kory." The alien warrior frowned, but didn't say anything in reply.

_Starfire: "It is not like I would have hurt her…much."_

"Well, if you guys aren't gonna spar, I will!" The air around Bart Allen crackled as the wild-child zoomed to the middle of the arena, grinning from ear to ear as he smashed his fists together. "C'mon, I can fight all of ya! Free for all: MELEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

The Titans present sighed. "Impulse," grumbled Speed, "Why don't you go bug Cyborg?"

**CYBORG'S WORKSHOP**

"Wow, this is amazing!" As Victor Stone escorted his guests—the members of Titans East known as Bumblebee and the Herald—Karen Beecher looked back and forth in awe. "I didn't think anybody outside of STAR Labs had equipment like this!"

"Eh, the credit goes to Jupiter on that one," Vic said, wondering only for a second where in the world he got the _money_ for it all. "He got me all this gear, I just put it all together."

Bumblebee's eyes were growing wider and wider, much to the disdain of her boyfriend. "Still, that's pretty amazing! Ever think about patenting any of this stuff? You could probably make a bundle!"

Cyborg shrugged. "I suppose so, but most of the stuff I make is just parts to repair my body or upgrade my weapons, nothing anybody else would be interested in."

_Cyborg: "Plus, I'm not really interested in the money. This is a hobby. It's fun. I have enough money from my folks' patents as it is anyway."_

"Y'know," continued the metal man, "I've got to make most of my gear real small so it'll fit inside me—maybe we can share some pointers, since you shrink too an' all. There's some stuff I'm workin' on up ahead." Taking to the air, her gossamer wings buzzing, Bumblebee flew towards the Titan's works-in-progress, but before he could follow he felt his arm being tugged on.

The Herald was holding him back. "Hold it, man," requested the ex-thug, "We need to talk." As Vic cocked his head, confused as to what could be going on, Malcolm Duncan made his thoughts perfectly clear with one blunt, succinct sentence: "Stop hittin' on my girl."

"What're you talking about?!" Cyborg was blown away by the implication. "Look, we're both scientists, this is just science talk. I've got my own girlfriend!"

Mal frowned, obviously not 100 convinced. "I don't deserve her, y'know. She's a genius—I'm nothin'. She shoulda left me on the street to rot, and I keep thinkin' that, any day now, she's gonna realize it and just leave. So 'fore that happens, while I still got her, ain't _nobody_ gonna take her away from me. You got that?"

"Yeah. I hear ya'."

"Mal!" Both Titans looked up. "Come on, you've got to see this!" As Herald hurried off to his love's side, Vic was lost in his own thoughts.

_Cyborg: "I want to be mad at him for jumpin' to conclusions like that, but I just can't be. I understand how he feels, and why he's that paranoid. Hell, I feel that way 'bout Sarah. I mean, we haven't even had our first date yet, but I've been talkin' to her constantly, and I'm just crazy for her. I know I wouldn't want anybody to take _her_ away from me."_

Suddenly, the machine man's thoughts were cut off by a red and white blur vibrating through the ceiling of his lab. Impulse hit the ground, and instantly was in awe of the sights he beheld. "Wicked!" he exclaimed as he zoomed through the veritable playground Cyborg's workshop provided him with reckless abandon. Vic just sighed.

_Cyborg: "Wonderful. This is worse 'en a bull in a china shop—hell, he's worse than having _Gar_ in here."_

"Why t'hell're you here?!" asked Victor angrily as he finally managed to lay a hand on the whiz kid.

Bart's lip pouted out and his eyes grew big and pitiful looking, like a cartoon. "I'm booooooooooooored! Nobody'll fight with me and Wally's being all boring and just looking at Fran with that dumb look, and Beast Boy's got that same look and Terra's outside just being all emo, and Wally said to come here so…"

"Hold up," interrupted Vic. "What's this about Gar?"

"He's just looking out the window at Terra and not movin'. He's been there forever—at least five minutes!"

_Cyborg: "Heh, looks like our little Gar's got himself his first crush. I remember how that is, and Gar's already insecure enough that he'll never make the first move. Of course, he's not speaking to me right now 'cause I butted into his life once already, but I guess I'm not learnin' my lesson. Seriously though, this isn't like Matt. He'll thank me for this—t'kid just needs a little push…"_

Leaning on one knee, Victor made eye contact with Impulse, hoping to actually gain his attention. "Impulse, since you're bored, I've got something _very_ important for you to do…"

**HALLWAY, OVERLOOKING THE DOCK**

Garfield Logan stood in one of the tower's numerous hallways, his face pressed against the glass. Far below him sat a girl named Terra, a girl he'd just met, yet who had totally stolen his heart. Her scrawny legs dangled over the edge of the island's dock as she casually picked up small pebbles and skipped them across the water. Gar couldn't take his eyes off her.

_Beast Boy: "I wish I knew why I felt like this. Yeah I've thought girls were pretty before, but it's never made me feel so…weird, like everything's all fuzzy or something. I want to talk to her so bad, but somebody as pretty as her wouldn't have anything to say to me…"_

Suddenly, Beast Boy was gone. He felt the wind in his face and saw colors blurring past him for a split second, only to find himself now standing right next to the girl! Between them was Impulse, who was just grinning devilishly. "Okay you two, enough being emo!" And then, as fast as he got there, he was gone.

"That was odd…" said Gar, marveling at how fast the kid was.

"Eh," dismissed Tara, "Once you know 'im you get used to stuff like this." Chuckling and nodding in affirmation, the green boy hesitantly sat down next to her.

_Beast Boy: "Geez, this is sure awkward. C'mon Gar, think of something!"_

"So, what kind of music you like?" Much to his surprise, Terra asked the first question.

Stumbling for a second, Gar replied, "Um, pretty much just Ben Folds Five?"

"That it?" Terra raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You only like one band in the world?"

Garfield shrugged. "It's the only CD I have. I was still real little when my parents died, and then the Doom Patrol was never much on buying silly little stuff like music. And, of course, after they died, I didn't really have much of anything. The last year I've just kinda been on my own—definitely didn't have money for more CDs."

_Beast Boy: "That's half the reason I got on this show. Sure, I can be on TV and be famous and fight bad guys and help people, and all of that's really really cool! But, honestly, I just wanted a place to live, and some money to spend, and…well…I wanted some _friends_."_

"That's rough," replied Tara Markov sadly. "Don't worry, we'll get those bastards."

With a sigh Gar leaned on his back, putting his hands behind his head like a pillow. "I sure hope so. I already screwed up once. I should've been there, but… Y'see, the Brotherhood captured an entire village, and when the Doom Patrol showed up to free it, the Brotherhood jerks ambushed 'em! They tied the DP up, and gave them a choice—the Brotherhood would either free them, or the village. Of course, there was no way the DP could let an entire village die, just so they could live, so, y'know…BOOM!

"If I'd been there, maybe I coulda done something! I know I could've sneaked in or helped somehow! But Mento didn't want me in such a dangerous situation, and wouldn't let me come!"

"Then, that doesn't sound like your fault," said the earth-mover.

Biting his lip for a second, Beast Boy added, "But if I'dve been better, maybe he would've trusted me, and I could've come!"

"And maybe you would've died there too!"

Staring off sadly, Gar simply replied, "Sometimes I think that would've been better…If I could've died a hero with them, not the wimpy kid who couldn't cut it."

_Beast Boy: "Geez, I never told anybody any of this stuff before, not even Vic! There's somethin' about Terra that, that makes me just wanna trust her. The others, they're all so powerful and confidant, I have to make them think I'm just as witty and strong and reliable as they are!"_

"I was a princess, y'know," interjected Tara abruptly.

"What?!"

"I'm a princess," she expounded, "Of the country Markovia. It's in Europe, real close to Germany, but I haven't been there in ages. My brother Brion and me were part of an experiment to help design super soldiers for our army. They poked and prodded and tested us, put us under a zillion different machines until finally I got my terrakinesis.

"And as soon as I did, I got the hell outta there, and never looked back. I've been everywhere since, just doing the whole superhero thing, seeing the sights, traveling the world."

"Why haven't ya settled down somewhere? I'm sure there're plenty of towns that would love to have their own superhero, and plenty of people who'd love _you_." In reply, the tiny blonde just sighed and looked down. Surprised, Gar sat up and tried to look her in the eye. "What? What's wrong?"

Terra bit her lip and hunched down even further, her hair obscuring her face as she grappled with herself. Finally, reaching a decision, she spoke. "Gar…I can't control my powers. Not fully, anyway. I'll show up somewhere, do a lot of good, then one day it's just too much! I've caused avalanches, earthquakes, even a volcano eruption! I keep trying to do good, but it always blows up in my face!

"That's why I joined Titans East. I hoped that maybe if I have other people to help, I won't have to push my powers to the limit…but someday I'll lose control again, Gar, and then I'll have to move on again…"

_Beast Boy: "Jeez. Talk about a rough life! Oprah could sell _both_ our stories for, like, a million bucks!"_

"But," stuttered Garfield, flattered but a bit confused, "Why are you telling me all this?"

"Cause you told me your story," replied Tara. "It's only fair. Besides…" Pausing for a second, the earth-mover smiled. "Besides, you're not like the others. Wonder Girl, Flamebird, Impulse, they don't know what problems are! But you Gar, you've been through as much hell as I have. You understand what it's like."

"Yeah," smiled the green kid, "I guess I do." Suddenly his smile grew even larger as an idea sparked in his head. "I wont' let you lose control!" he exclaimed, much to his crush's confusion. "If you feel like you're gonna lose it, just holler for me! I'll be there for back-up!"

Finally, Terra smiled—in fact, she almost blushed! "Thanks, Gar. You're a good kid."

"Yeah, Tara. You're pretty great yourself."

_Beast Boy: "And at that point, my heart could've pretty much just flown away and exploded. I don't know if I've _ever_ felt this good!"_

"It's funny," said Terra with a laugh. "When I asked you what kind of music you like, I was just setting up a joke. You would reply with, like, hip hop or something, and I'd reply, 'Oh, well I like _rock_ and roll!'"

Gar raised one eyebrow in confusion for a second, until his brain processed the pun. "Oh, cause, like, you throw rocks!" The green Titan collapsed, laughing hysterically. "That's great!"

_Beast Boy: "I mean, there's nothing I love more than a good pun!"_

As Beast Boy laughed, nearing the point of convulsing, Tara just smiled at him fondly. Finally she picked up a tiny pebble and tossed it onto his lap. "Ever skipped a rock before?" she asked as she tossed another stone sideways, watching it skip four, five, six times across the water's surface.

"Nope," replied Gar, who grinned as he got to his feet and wound up his arm, "But, y'know, beginner's luck an' all that!" Tossing the stone, it flew high into the air in an arc, and fell beneath the water with a single, pathetic sploosh.

Before he could even begin to pout, Terra placed another rock in his hand. "Try again." Again Gar went through the same overblown wind-up, but this time, as the stone hit the surface, it shot sideways and skipped seven times!

"Al_right_!" exclaimed the shapeshifter, leaping into the air and rejoicing until suddenly a thought popped into his head. "Waaaaaait a second…did you just do that with your powers?"

Tara smirked. "_I'll_ never tell."

"Beast Boy! Terra!" And just like that their conversation was over as Raven appeared in mid-air, exploding from a bird-shaped pool of black. "Jupiter has finished his preparations, and the others are loading onto the ship. It is time to go."

"You got it, creepy bird lady," replied Terra, starting to regain her chipper persona after that uplifting conversation. Her eyes glew yellow as a stone carved itself out of the ground, floating the girl into the air. "Need a lift?"

"You bet!" exclaimed Gar as he hopped onto the rock. "But…can you drop me off at the confessional first?"

"The confessional?"

"Y'know, the thing where you talk to the camera and tell it what you're thinkin'. Jupiter's always saying to make sure y'hit it before leaving for a mission, cause…well, you never know if you'll make it back."

Though morbid, Terra knew it was true. "Well, be sure to say good stuff about me!"

"Hey, there's nothing else I _could_ say!"

_Beast Boy: "TODAY IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"_

**OFF THE AIR—THE HIDEOUT OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF EVIL, ZANDIA**

Just across the ocean, along the southern side of Europe, lies the tiny country of Zandia. Though they have never officially endorsed their guests for fear of United Nations retaliation, Zandia has nevertheless long been a choice haven for terrorists, drug runners, and even the occasional super villain.

The Brain, leader of the Brotherhood of Evil, was born in Zandia—there was no place he felt more at home. Brain was placed at the front of his headquarters, along with the two top members of his Brotherhood, facing his other five agents. Though their current meeting place was located in a cave along the coast, it was lined with wall-to-wall computers, all of their leader's own design.

As for the Brain himself, he was exactly what he sounded like: a lone brain kept alive in a clear jar. The danger Brain posed lied with his prodigious IQ, which allowed him to outthink, outplan, or outlead his opponents. Of course, the five foot tall case that housed the jar that kept him alive was also armed to the teeth—just because one could never be too careful.

"My Brotherhood," began the Brain, his monotone, computerized voice produced by a voice box within his metallic shell, "Today we lie on the verge of a new beginning! As all of you well know, one year ago we achieved the mission on which I founded the Brotherhood of Evil: the destruction of the Doom Patrol! Since then, I have longed for only one other thing: to be together with my beloved Mallah!"

On the Brain's right stood Monsieur Mallah, a massive gorilla wearing a beret and decked out with an ammo belt and several weapons. Mallah was an experiment of the Brain's from when he was still human—he had increased the ape's intelligence to far beyond that of normal humans, which, among other things, allowed him to speak! After the 'incident' where Brain lost his body, Mallah returned the favor by building the jar that keeps him alive! After that, a mutual affection grew between the two that today finds itself evident in a sorta sick, definitely bizarre, romance between the two.

"And now," picked up Mallah, "Our dream can finally come true. We have completed the cloning machine, and soon, our glorious master will finally once again have a body to call his own!"

"But then who's going to lead us?" asked a man in a gold and silver metallic suit, its helmet sloping into a cone, like the Pope's hat. He was Warp, and his suit had the ability to teleport anything, any_where_. "Is this the end of the Brotherhood?"

Snickering, a woman standing to the Brain's left—the only other general facing the Brotherhood—answered the frenchman's question. "Of course not, my friend. Don't worry, you're not out of work yet."

"Madame Rouge will be taking over as leader of the Brotherhood," announced the Brain, referring to the woman who had just spoken. "I am sure you will all agree that she will be quite an adequate leader."

Indeed, none of the Brotherhood could object. Rouge had been there from the beginning, and had learned to lead well from the Brain's example. She was vicious, ruthless, and hated the Doom Patrol as much as—maybe even _more_—than her leader ever did. For _both_ of them, it was _personal_. Worst of all, she was also all but nigh invincible—she possessed elastic shapeshifting abilities that let her become anything she wanted!

"Wi," nodded Warp, but not all of his teammates were as pleased.

"Bah, a woman as leader," grumbled Plasmus, a giant pink pile of living goo—sure, it's a crude description, but Plasmus himself was plenty crude. "I'd be stupid not to trust Rouge, but we could not find a man capable of it?"

"What, you wanted Hitler or something?" It was a logical question, as Plasmus had once been a Neo-Nazi skinhead whose body was turned into a protoplasm mess during a protest gone wrong. The teammate that span the smart remark his way was named Houngan, and he was the grandchild of a prominent African voodoo priest. Raised in the United States, Houngan didn't believe in the so-called 'nonsense', but coached on by his grandfather, found his own form of voodoo through DNA based nano-technology.

Never the best person to begin with, he used this newfound power to gain riches as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil. He wore a high collared jacket and a face mask with a skull painted on it, with his voodoo tech and dolls strapped across his body. Considering his heritage, it was no wonder he and Plasmus didn't get along. "You're lucky you're in the Brotherhood or I'd—"

"Calm yourself, Plasmus," commanded a woman in a green and black leotard. She was gaunt, wore too much make-up, and held herself with an air of nobility. She was Phobia, and she had the intimidating ability to bring someone's fears to life. "He simply fears what he does not understand," she continued, turning towards Houngan, "And there is _so_ much Plasmus does not understand." The protoplasm man growled, but didn't dare open his mouth—_nobody_ messed with Phobia.

Beside them all, a young girl in a frilly pink dress with long, curled blond hair chuckled innocently. "It's so _cute_ when they fight!" This girl was Goldilocks—yes, like the fairy tale. In fact, she thought she was _from_ the story, though—taking a little creative license—she could do something the storybook character never could: control her hair as a weapon!

"Enough!" exclaimed the Brain. "If you want to argue with Madame Rouge—which I would not recommend—do so later, but for now we still have one more matter to deal with before I receive my prize: the Teen Titans!"

"Who?" The Brotherhood of Evil wasn't exactly up on their pop culture, save maybe for one member…

"Oh, I know them!" exclaimed Goldilocks with a smile. "They're that superhero team on MTV! That Robin is so dreamy…"

"They are on their way here now, seemingly on a mission of revenge," continued the Brain, unconcerned with his minion's opinion on Robin's looks—though, incidentally, he agreed. "It seems our mistakes have caught up with us: when we decimated the Doom Patrol, we missed one member—"

Snarling, Rouge knew exactly who it was. "Beast Boy." She was practically seething. "He is all that is left of that rotten team—he _cannot_ be allowed to live!"

Warp, however, looked uneasy. "I…do not want to fight children."

"Then feel free to hand yourself over to them when they arrive," snapped Brain. This shut the teleporter up. Meanwhile pictures of Wonder Girl, Speed and Raven appeared on a computer monitor behind the Brain. "The rest of you, listen: The team is rather strong, but relatively new, and still not well coordinated. Take out their leader, Wonder Girl, first, and they shall crumble. Second, focus on their powerhouses—Phobia, Houngan, you will be most effective in this regard. In fact, Houngan, I've already taken the liberty of lifting all seven of their genetic signatures and loading them into your fetishes."

"How long 'til they get here?" inquired Plasmus. "I've been dying to melt somebody for weeks now."

As if in answer to their question, their entire compound rumbled as the hull of the T-Ship broke through the cave wall like a battering ram.

"That answer your question?" grumbled Houngan. As a ramp extended from the ship's door, the Teen Titans and Titans East emerged, fourteen strong!

"Master, that is twice as many as we expected!" exclaimed Monsieur Mallah.

If Brain could have smiled, he would have. "That just makes it more fun, Mallah!"

Next Time: The Teen Titans and Titans East vs. The Brotherhood of Evil!


	12. Teen Titans vs The Brotherhood of Evil!

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and they and other characters used in this story are owned by DC Comics

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and they and other characters used in this story are owned by DC Comics. It is with much respect and admiration that I take a stab at writing them. And I'm really tired of trying to find witty things to say in this space.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 12: The Teen Titans and Titans East vs. The Brotherhood of Evil!**

**ROLE CALL:**

**THE TEEN TITANS—Teenage heroes and reality TV stars:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

**TITANS EAST—Teenage heroes aiming for fame, fortune, and the honor of being a true Teen Titan!:**

**Flamebird—**Bette Kane: Spoiled rich heiress, athlete, and Robin fangirl.

**Arsenal—**Roy Harper: Former bad-boy sidekick and current government agent and weapon master with perfect aim.

**Impulse—**Bart Allen: Hyperactive super speedster from the future with no understanding of danger.

**Bumblebee—**Karen Beecher: Cybernetic genius with an insect themed power suit.

**The Herald—**Malcolm Duncan: Ex-thug armed with a wormhole generating horn.

**Terra—**Tara Markov: Runaway and wanderer with control over the very Earth itself!

**Magenta—**Francis Kane: Timid girl possessing tremendous magnetic power.

**THE BROTHERHOOD OF EVIL—Freaks and outcasts seeking revenge, money, or twisted fun as a band of terrorist supervillains:**

**The Brain: **Super-intelligent brain preserved in a robotic jar.

**Monsieur Mallah: **The Brain's love, a fierce ape given human intellect!

**Madame Rouge: **Cruel, sadistic shapeshifter.

**Warp: **Teleporting blue-collar Frenchman.

**Phobia: **Fallen nobility with the ability to bring people's fears to life.

**Plasmus: **Neo-Nazi turned into a protoplasmic pile of living sludge.

**Houngan: **Former scientist with technology simulating voodoo.

**Goldilocks: **Twisted girl with control over her hair and a mind locked in a fairy tale.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

**ON THE AIR—THE HIDEOUT OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF EVIL, ZANDIA**

Many years ago, Dr. Niles Caulder—perhaps the most brilliant neurosurgeon to have ever lived—banded together with several of his patients, whom had been dubbed "freaks" by the media due to the bizarre abilities granted them by their accidents. Together, led by Caulder, they became the Doom Patrol, a force—and a family—of superheroes who fought the bizarre and unknown.

Almost immediately after their inception appeared the Brotherhood of Evil. Led by the Brain, they had an intense, unreasonable hatred for the Doom Patrol. Over the years they clashed numerous times, their final confrontation leading to the murder of nearly the entire Doom Patrol—all the while, one question loomed like the elephant in the room nobody wanted to address: Why did the Brotherhood of Evil hate the Doom Patrol so much?!

Now, the only surviving member of the Patrol—Garfield Logan, the animal shapeshifter known as Beast Boy—was a member of the Teen Titans, a team of teenaged superheroes whose every exploit was filmed and shown to a television audience of millions. He stood in the forefront of his team—also joined by Titans East, a team of teens eager to meet and become as famous as the real deal—as they now faced down the Brotherhood in their very own lair!

_Beast Boy: "What a day! I meet the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, and she really seems to like me—then on top of that, I finally get to have revenge on the Brotherhood! This is gonna be one for the record books!"_

"Master!" growled Monsieur Mallah, a super-intelligent ape and eventual 'lover' of the brain in a jar, "There are twice as many of them as anticipated!"

"That just makes it more fun," clicked the mechanical voice-box in the Brain's jar in a monotone, robotic tone. "Brotherhood, you know what to do!"

Tiny electric pins shot out of the fingertips of Houngan's gloves as the scientist that simulated voodoo grabbed several glowing dolls from his belt. "Don't have to tell me twice," he laughed as he shoved the pins into two of the dolls. They had been instructed to quickly take out the Titans' powerhouses, and if anybody, Houngan was the perfect choice for this task.

As the needles tore into the dolls' stomachs, both Speed and Raven collapsed. Wally screamed as his Speed Force shell of a stomach shattered, and Raven, perhaps for the first time since joining the team, actually touched the ground, trying her best not to lose control.

_Speed: "Good lord, it's been ages since I've felt pain! No wonder these guys are so dangerous!"_

_Raven: "They know what they are doing. Already I sense more steps of their plan going into motion. I must be at my most diligent lest I lose control and doom _all_ of us!"_

"I am sorry I have to do this to _children_," said Warp, a blue-collar Frenchman in a golden, pointed suit as he stretched his arm out, "But you have brought the war to us. I need the Brotherhood far too much to let them perish."

Advanced technology came to life in his suit, and a white light shimmered around Wonder Girl as it swallowed the Amazon up! In only a second she had disappeared completely, teleported to who knows where!

_Wonder Girl: "Just _brilliant_, Donna…We left ourselves wide open for that, myself especially! I demanded the responsibility of leader, I should have realized that I was making myself the biggest target on the team! Fortunately, our strength in numbers alone was enough to survive for the time being…"_

"C'mon Gar, what's the hold up?!" Beast Boy was snapped to his senses by Terra, the runaway earth-mover whom he so adored. A yellow aura sparked to life around her hands as a small rock propelled her into the air. "This is your battle—get out there!"

_Beast Boy: "Heh, is she ever just the kick in the pants I need."_

Indeed, it was all the reminder Garfield Logan needed. "Brain—you're mine!" His green body twisted and contorted until it had taken the shape of a pterodactyl and rushed the Brotherhood's deranged, disembodied leader.

"Ah yes, Beast Boy," mused the Brain. "You do not concern me. I have already taken my revenge against Caulder and his experiments—you were never part of his plan. All I want now is to live in peace with my Mallah."

_Beast Boy: "His experiments? What's he talking about? The DP's accidents gave them their powers—Chief _saved_ them! And what's he mean about me?!"_

"However," continued the evil organ, "There is someone who is much more eager to see you than I." Piggy-backing off that ominous introduction, two arms came barreling towards the changeling, twisting and contorting like endless, rubber snakes.

"Madame Rouge!" Gar didn't need any reminders to remember his fellow shapeshifter, perhaps the most dangerous member of the Brotherhood. While Warp, Plasmus and the others were mostly hired help, Rouge seemed to share Brain's original goal of revenge with just as much vehement zeal as the disembodied monster.

_Beast Boy: "And boy, is she ever bad news! Rouge can even become more stuff than I can! And it's not like she's actually turnin' into, like, a lion or somethin', she's more like rubber! It usually took Dad's psycho-helmet to put her down—man, I wish he'd left a spare!"_

Rouge's arms rushed towards the green kid with ferocious speed, quickly overtaking him and threatening to capture him despite his constant transformations into smaller and smaller animals. "Beast Boy, what a pleasure to see you," growled the woman as the veritable tornado her arms had become finally snared the Titan, squeezing until he returned to his human form. "Finally, my collection is complete!"

"Leave him alone, b--!" exclaimed Tara, her aura flaring as the ground before her crumbled and hurled into the air. Taking Gar in one hand, Rouge again hurled her other forward, letting it stretch and expand until it had caught every single stone like an overstuffed trash-bag. Her eyes bulging, cursing out loud Tara shoved her hands to the ground, focusing as much power as she could as she raised a wall of solid stone between herself and her attacker—for nothing, as Rouge's hand full of rocks came barreling through, knocking the Eastern Titan unconscious.

Reeling Terra in, Madame Rouge smiled wickedly. "Well, looks like I have the complete set."

"You will leave my friends alone!" Heading towards the villains at top-speed was Starfire, her fiery red hair blazing behind her, her emerald green Starbolts sizzling in her palms, her face full of fury.

Turning towards the Brain, the shapeshifter only had to say, "Brain…"

"Yes, I know what you have in mind for the green one," replied the Brain. "I will not let her spoil your fun. Mallah!"

And suddenly Monsieur Mallah was atop Princess Koriand'r, driving her into the ground with force unusual even for a gorilla. "You will leave my master alone!"

_Starfire: "Poor creature! I do not know what they have done to make it fight for them, but I cannot allow my compassion to hold me back from saving my friends!"_

Meanwhile, gears in Warp's suit continued to turn as he focused his attention on determining his next target—and settled on ridding them of Houngan's powerhouse targets so that the faux master of voodoo could focus his attention elsewhere. "Au revioua…"

However, with a triumphant burst of deep music, Warp's wormholes disappeared before they could even begin to open. "Yeah, those ain't cool man, ain't cool at all." Panicked, the Frenchman turned to see the Herald standing to his side, his rift-creating trumpet resting on his lips. "Y'see, this teleportin' stuff was invented by my lady-friend over there, so I've got as much of a handle on it as you do."

Warp looked panicked for a second, but as soon as that passed a look of deep resolution replaced it as he held both arms forward and set into motion dozens of his own warp-holes. "Fine," growled Malcolm Duncan, "Be like that." Inhaling deeply, his cheeks puffed out as he blew on his amazing trumpet, closing every warp-hole before they could even begin to be harmful.

"Wow, he's just like my own action figure dolly!" exclaimed Goldilocks, her attention focused on Cyborg's half-mechanical body. "I want him!" Powered solely by her will, several of her long, curled pigtails hurled forward, twisting into razor-edged corkscrews.

_Cyborg: "I'm half surprised Sarah didn't appear out of nowhere and take her down right there for that remark!"_

Sarah Simms needn't be there, however, as a large stream of acid took care of Goldilock's, uh, golden locks instead. "Plasmus! Watch it!"

"Bah," growled the giant pile of living waste, "You watch yourself, girl. The n--'s mine!"

"Potty mouth," grumbled Goldilocks, while Victor Stone's body could barely contain his rage.

_Cyborg: "Tell me he did _not_ just say what I think he did!"_

Electricity started to sizzle in Houngan's glove as, with his other hand, he reached for more dolls. "Man, all these extra guys are just making them more disorganized! Brain already uploaded the DNA of the real Titans into my fetishes, so while I'm finishing them off the others should have no trouble with their imposter friends!"

"Imposters, huh?" In the blink of an eye the dolls he was using to torture Speed and Raven were gone, held in the hands of a white and red streak. "No way! We're Titans East!"

Impulse, the wild-child speedster from the future, crushed Houngan's torture devices in his hand before dashing forward several more times, pummeling the voodoo mimic with every strike. Skidding to a stop, his untamable mane of hair billowing behind him as he smiled devilishly, he added, "You said yourself you can only hurt the other Titans! You can't do a thing to me!"

"Wanna bet?" Suddenly Bart was on the floor, gripping his knee. Houngan had stabbed a needle into the knee of a doll, with a lock of brown hair attached to its head. "You're fast, kid, but predictable. Easy to get your DNA. Now, you're mine!"

Despite the outcome, however, Bart Allen's impulsive attack was still successful in one area—freeing his teammates! With the pain instantly gone, both Wally and Raven were able to get to their feet.

"Man, it's like I got hit by a Mac Truck," grumbled the speed specter groggily as he held his head. "So, what do we do now?"

"You get back on your knees." Before Speed could even react he had fallen, his world spinning. Standing behind him was Phobia, a fearsome woman clad in green and black, wearing more make-up than a 1940's starlet.

_Speed: "What is this, everybody pick on Wally day? Hell, not that every day isn't like that, but I mean, it's worse than ever!"_

_Raven: "I can feel from her…great satisfaction. She manipulates fear, she loves to make others feel fear…because every time she does, she escapes the fear she lived with her entire life. I would love to show her the hypocrisy in her own actions…but at all costs, I must avoid her. Speed with his fears unleashed is simply a danger to Speed, but _me_ with my fear unleashed…is a danger to _everybody_ here."_

"Raven…" groaned Wally, clawing at the ground as his mind seemed to slip away, "…Help me…"

Pausing for a second, hesitantly Raven said, "I…I am sorry Speed. I cannot!" Immediately she vanished in a bird-shaped pool of black, and Wally screamed as he became totally lost in his fears.

_Speed: "That b-- showed me horrible things, my worst nightmares come to life. I've already lost my body, but I started to lose my mind…I lost Aunt Iris, I lost Fran, I lost…Raven…_

_"Hell, what's sad is my worst nightmares aren't that far off from real life…"_

"Leave Wally alone!" Suddenly Phobia was knocked off her feet by one of the compound's many computer terminals, uprooted by a familiar magenta aura. Frances Kane floated above it, rage replacing her usually timid demeanor.

_Speed: "Good ol' Fran. Screw Raven—I don't know what I even see in her. She isn't even _half_ the girl Fran is!"_

"Then do you want me to attack you instead?" replied Phobia who, despite being injured, didn't give it away at all in her regal voice. "Your fears are just as transparent as your boyfriend's, girl. With you it is not a matter of finding them as much as it is choosing which fear to manipulate!"

And as simply as that Magenta was on the ground, writhing in agony. In her mind Phobia had unleashed her worst fear—a state she'd been in before, a state she thought she'd left behind, that she _had_ to leave behind, because she was in _control_ now, right? Her magnetic aura circled her body as her long blonde hair started to stand on end, as she retreated to the same state she'd been in when she tore Girder into pieces.

_Speed: "Oh no, it can't be. She told me she had control now! Dammit, no!"_

It would have been the perfect shot, had Phobia not already been scanning for more Titans. Since she had, however, she knew Arsenal's attack was coming, and strafed right past several red arrows before extending her hand. High atop the cave, from the perfect sniper's vantage point, Agent Roy Harper collapsed as the Brotherhood's mental powerhouse kicked down the door to his subconscious.

"All of you teenagers are the same," she said, smirking. "Your fears are so obvious and plain—your pasts are so full of mistakes you're nearly paralyzed before I can even get to you!" Indeed, it took little prodding to make Roy relive the pains of both drug addiction and withdrawal at the same time!

_Robin: "Arsenal had the right idea, though—there's not much that can take down the old witch 'sides a sneak attack!"_

As Dick Grayson leapt from an alcove out of Phobia's line of vision he certainly had the element of surprise on his side—unfortunately, so did Goldilocks, who interrupted the acrobat's sneak attack as she ensnared him in a deadly net of her hair!

"Ooh, you're much better than Cyborg," grinned the psychotic little girl. "You're _just right…_"

"Get your damn hands off him!" Two garish boomerangs soared towards Goldilocks, who easily swiped them aside with two more pigtails. Standing in opposition to the Brotherhood member was Bette Kane—the Robin fangirl known as Flamebird! "Robin's mine!"

_Robin: "No, I've told her a million times _Kory's_ my girl…but hey, I'm not about to argue with the chick that's about to rescue me, cuckoo or not!"_

"Party pooper," insulted Goldilocks as she started to spin, making Dick dizzy as she battered Flamebird repeatedly. Before she even knew what hit her, both her and Robin were wrapped up tight in a ball of the girl's odd, malleable hair. "Yay! Time to play!"

Meanwhile, the showdown between Warp and the Herald continued, still locked in a stalemate as Raven appeared beside the two of them—and falling from her dark energy was Wonder Girl, dripping wet but still alive!

_Wonder Girl: "Warp teleported me to the bottom of the ocean—fortunately I can hold my breath for several minutes, but still, I didn't think I was going to make it! Thank Zeus for Raven!"_

"Enough," said Raven to Mal, pulling his horn from his lips. "Cyborg needs your assistance. I can take care of Warp."

"And I'm on the Brain!" exclaimed Donna as she sped off.

_Wonder Girl: "He had the right idea having them go after me first! If I can take out the Brain, the Brotherhood should fall apart!"_

"Cyborg?" Herald wasn't too pleased with the idea. "I should really be with Kare—"

"_Cyborg_ needs your help," insisted Raven, giving the ex-thug a look that indicted she wasn't going to take no for an answer. Even Mal was shaken! "Go!"

As Mal hurried off, Warp was relieved. "And you believe you can stop me, little girl?"

"Why yes," replied the empath coldly as her dark cloak expanded, and before Warp even knew it he was surrounded by a never ending field of black! "Yes I can."

**OFF THE AIR**

Warp awoke to find himself immersed in nothing but never-ending black. It was as if he was floating in space, with no ground, no sky, no beginning nor any end. He strained to activate the teleportation devices contained within his suit, but that effort was in vain.

"Do not waste your time, Warp. I long ago took possession of your suit and rendered its powers useless."

The Frenchman looked around, confused as Raven's voice seemed to echo from every direction, even though the empath was nowhere to be found. "Whe—where—"

"You are within my soul self, Warp," answered the dark Titan. "Here your mind and emotions are an open book to me."

"Then you know why I do this, non?" Sweat rolled down his face. "Please, Mademoiselle Raven, I did not want to harm any of you. I have children myself. All I want is to provide for my family…"

"By killing?" Raven's omnipresent voice got louder as her anger rose. "The Brotherhood demolished an entire country in a nuclear explosion, Warp. You can justify the death of millions simply to feed your family? You have gone beyond simply finding a means to an end. What would your family think if they knew what you have done?"

Squirming, Warp obviously wasn't happy with where this was going. "T—they would understand…"

"Unlikely. I can feel what little guilt remains in you over your life course, Warp. There used to be much more of it, did there not? But, it appears that on some level…you find being in the Brotherhood of Evil _fun_. Have you really put this over your family's feelings? _Sickening_."

Gritting his teeth, clenching his face, Warp seethed. "Who are you to judge me, witch?"

"Judge? _I _have not wasted my time judging you." Suddenly Warp started to feel dizzy, growing groggy as if the darkness that enveloped him was leaking into his brain. As the last of the Brotherhood member's consciousness slipped away, he was treated to one last thought of Raven's—his last sight was of four red eyes piercing the all-consuming darkness. "After all, why judge you when judgment has already been passed against all _mankind_?"

**ON THE AIR**

And Warp was left unconscious on the ground as Raven's Soul Self retreated into her cloak. The empath just looked down at him sadly, knowing the audience could not see what she had put him through.

_Raven: "I hope I did not hurt Warp too badly…but hopefully I have taught him something. Still, I made sure that if he tries to resume his life of crime, he will suddenly find every nightmare he has ever had released into his mind!"_

"What did they do to you?" asked Starfire as she launched several Starbolts towards Monsieur Mallah, the enhanced gorilla she currently found herself battling. As he lumbered towards the Tamaranian, pushing forward with his long arms and smaller legs, the green projectiles simply bounced out of his path.

"My Master has enhanced my intelligence, agility, strength, and even installed a force field on my weapons belt," explained Mallah proudly, beaming as much as a gorilla could.

"No," frowned Koriand'r, "I mean how did they make you fight for them? Are you simply doing it as a favor? You have been gifted with intelligence, Mallah—use it! Is repaying the Brain's gifts worth so much killing and misery?"

Somersaulting, the gorilla attacked from above, and the Tamaranian only narrowly managed to counter it. "No," he answered gruffly, "I am doing this for _love_, girl. The Brain and I are finally going to be together!"

_Starfire: "That is certainly an…odd pairing. Even on Tamaran it would have been taboo for different species to mate, but considering the unique circumstances here…I suppose love truly knows no bounds, no? Still, despite their love or even any hardships placed in their way, it does not justify the murder of heroes!"_

"You will be together in _prison_!" exclaimed Kory as she propelled herself above her opponent. "You are lucky you are not on _my_ world, or it would be in death instead!"

"Atta girl, Starfire!" cheered Donna Troy as she soared, nearing her top speed, past her alien teammate and straight toward the Brain himself! "Nice to see you've learned a little something here on Earth!"

_Starfire: "I do not know if I have 'learned' as much as I have…conformed. After all, what is that saying? When on Rann, do as the Rannians do?"_

"Wonder Girl," said the Brain, the eyes of his robotic shell lighting up, "If you are here then Warp must have failed his mission. Pity—for both him and his family."

Suddenly six beams of fluorescent orange light shot from computer consoles surrounding the Amazon, honing in on her effortlessly and ensnaring her within a cocoon of their pulsating energy.

"Still, just because I have my Brotherhood does not mean I am defenseless."

_Wonder Girl: "I knew that, but it never occurred to me that tiny robot body could have this much control! I suppose this is the price we pay for attacking the Brotherhood in their own lair—the Brain has complete control of this place!_

_"Well, this is a mistake I won't make again!"_

"How much longer can you last, Teen Titans?" Phobia strolled casually, back and forth past the bodies of Speed and Magenta, and below the body of Arsenal, all three trapped in their own worst nightmares, courtesy of the witch's meta-human abilities. "How much longer before your own fear causes your mind to freeze, your body to…simply cease functioning?"

Pausing for a second beside Wally, Phobia continued, "Of course, your life doesn't seem tied to your body…perhaps I could animate your fears…permanently?"

_Speed: "Again, it's not much different from my real life anyway…"_

"Why don't you pick on somebody your own size, wicked witch of the west?" Suddenly Phobia was knocked backwards by a sparking blast of yellow that got her in the gut—just across from her, Bumblebee returned to her normal size. "Like me."

Breathing heavily as she climbed to her feet, Phobia replied, "Then so be it. What could be your worst fear, girl—a beekeeper?"

Extending her hand, the green clad woman expected Karen to fall as did the others—but she only cocked her hip and stared at her like she was insane! As Phobia's jaw dropped, the Titan tapped the side of her head and informed her, "My suit's programmed to resist mind control. Sorry lady, but your reign of terror's over."

"Ridiculous," replied Phobia. The air around her started to simmer like it would on a hot day, and the whites of her eyes turned black, highlighting her shockingly green pupils even more as she strained every last reserve of her power against Bumblebee. Unfortunately for her, it was working—fortunately for everybody else, the concentration it took meant that Phobia was distracted from the others!

Bumblebee's leg trembled as the full power of Phobia's mental abilities started to overload even her suit's formidable defenses—meanwhile, Wally started to come to, pulling himself to his feet in a flash.

"Fran!" he exclaimed, his first thought on the love that had returned to his life. Magenta hadn't moved—she was still hunched on the ground, her magnetic power criss-crossing her body while she was unresponsive.

_Speed: "Damn, she hasn't recovered yet. Is that because of Phobia or…no, I can't think about the other option. The witch must not've gone all out yet, that's it! Well, if she's the problem than the answers easy enough…"_

Angry, Wally West went from standing still to moving at the speed of sound almost instantly. His fist of compressed Speed Force energy shattered against Phobia's cheek, sending her reeling into a wall. Before she could even land, the Titan ran to the T-Ship, grabbed a helmet covered in knobs and wires, and strapped it to his now-unconscious opponent's head.

_Speed: "The reason we were held up getting here in the first place is cause we had to wait for Jupiter to make us this crap—this is an inhibitor helmet to prevent Phobia from using her powers…though I seriously doubt she's gonna wake up anytime soon after that punch. But still…that geek actually made something good this time!"_

"Thanks, Wally," grunted Magenta—the speed specter was disheartened as he turned to find Fran hadn't changed! Sure, she was standing up and talking…but that wasn't the problem! Spreading her arms to the side, the magnetic girl uprooted two rows of the Brain's equipment and levitated into the air, dragging it with her. "C'mon, there's more of them to take care of!"

"What's wrong with her?" asked Bumblebee as Fran flew off. "I've never seen Fran seem that…confident before!"

"I have," added Arsenal as he landed between Wally and Karen. "The same thing happened to her when we fought Girder—she got knocked around, then came back like _that_ and tore the guy to pieces!"

_Speed: "S--, there's no running from it anymore. _This_ is what caused me to break it off with Fran in the first place! Her powers…they flip-flop her brain between positive and negative magnetic waves—she's LITERALLY bi-polar! Too much stress and she goes from my sweet, shy Fran to this gung-ho…dangerous Magenta!_

_"I left cause I couldn't bear to see it keep happening to her…and then when she showed up at the Tower, wearing that costume and using her powers, saying everything was fine…I thought she'd beaten it! Why…why wouldn't she tell me?!"_

Houngan clapped his hands—while this is normally considered a good thing, it certainly wasn't when Impulse's imitation voodoo doll was resting between his palms! The tiny speedster rocked back and forth, as if being hit by giant, invisible hands, becoming more battered with each and every attack!

"I could…really use a…cheat code…'bout now," stuttered Bart, with a dazed look and frazzled ends of his hair hanging across his face. His attacker chuckled as his glove lit up with electricity, looming just over the ADD addled kid's likeness.

"Heh, you're a fun one kid, but I've wasted enough time. Let's—"

"Yes, Impulse, we thank you for your sacrifice." Suddenly the faux voodoo master was overtaken by a wave of deep purple power, and every doll and piece of equipment controlling his abilities were ripped from his body. Floating into the air, they stretched, pulled, and merged together into a single ball of metal, hovering besides the changed Magenta! "Your distraction kept Houngan from focusing on the rest of us. Would you like the honors?"

The Brotherhood member was looking at the magnetic Titan, terrified, and as he turned back towards Impulse, he was even more terrified as he saw that the whiz-kid had fully healed, thanks to his super-speed metabolism!

"What—how—"

"This kid bounces back!" answered Bart Allen as he exploded forward. Houngan screamed cries for mercy, but they were totally blocked out by the sounds of Impulse mercilessly pummeling him from every angle. As he fell to the ground, unconscious and bleeding, Impulse only had one sentence to add:

"You just got schooled by Titans East!"

Magenta, however, hadn't stuck around to see her teammate's victory. The shifting polarities of her magnetic power had sent her into a fit of vengeance, and now she soared past Kory, past Donna, and straight towards the Brotherhood's bizarre leader!

"Surrender now!" cried the eastern Titan as she thrusted her hand forward, releasing a pulse of her power through the Brain's robotic body—yet, much to her surprise, "What? It did nothing! How?!"

"Control over magnetism is far too common an ability, girl," said the Brain. "And it is also far too easy to prepare for—my body is made of all plastic components, and I have weaponry fully capable of…well, perhaps a demonstration is in order…"

The eyes on the Brain's robotic shell lit up, and so did Magenta, her polarity switching between positive and negative several hundred times per second—the crackling of the energy even drowned out her screams as the blonde fell to the ground, unconscious and completely immobilized.

"Fran!" Wally roared to her side, kneeling, and if he could've cried, he would have. Cradling her in his arms, he rose to his feet, so wrapped up in her fate that he didn't even notice Wonder Girl a few feet in front of him, trapped within pulsating bars of pure energy.

"Speed!" cried Donna, trying her best to get his attention. Not even her Amazon strength could free her from the intangible trap, and she was starting to go numb. There wasn't time to fool around! "Speed—_Wally_—I need you!"

Still, Wally West didn't even notice her. "Don't worry Fran, everything will be okay—it has to be!" In an instant he was gone, no doubt having sped off to the nearest hospital he could find.

_Wonder Girl: "Hera, what a double standard! Save her, but let me die?! I definitely need to talk to him about teamwork!"_

Suddenly Donna Troy saw crimson arrows fly around her in all directions, aiming for the weapons that held her captive! They exploded on contact, but sadly, the weapons were guarded with force fields!

"S--, wasn't expecting that," grumbled Arsenal as he slipped his longbow back over his shoulder. "Okay, time for Plan B then!"

_Wonder Girl: "Well, that makes up for Wally I guess! A much better choice of a knight in shining armor!"_

"Heh, and here I thought this would be a waste of time!" exclaimed Plasmus with a laugh as he slung his arm at Cyborg, parts of his protoplasm appendage flinging off as acidy projectiles. "I hate what I have become, but if it lets me kill more n--s, then maybe it's not all bad!"

Grimacing, Vic spread his arms and brought to life his energy shield, a shimmering field of translucent blue that held at bay the Neo-Nazi's acidic assault. Hatches in the Titan's shoulder popped open, releasing a flurry of missiles. Plasmus grinned about as well as he could for having a mouth made of sludge as he moved through the storm of explosives, slithering like a snake between the missiles.

_Cyborg: "The bastard's goading me on, but as much as I wanna I'm not goin' to say a damn thing to him. I'm not giving him anything he can use as ammo against me, and a racist guy like him could use _anything_ as ammo."_

Moving faster than expected, Plasmus snaked beneath the final missile then launched himself into the air, ready to slam atop the mechanical man. Again Cyborg brought to life his energy shield, and it started to crack as the Brotherhood member made of pure protoplasm landed atop it, taxing the shield's integrity with both his weight and his acidity. Grunting, Victor Stone sent the shield—and his opponent—hurling forward.

This didn't stop Plasmus, who surrounded the shield-turned-projectile with his body, depleting the last of its energy and shattering Cyborg's final defense. The metal man staggered backwards, physically pained at the loss of the sizeable energy bank his shield required, while the protoplasm man dove into the ground, melting a fissure into the stone and using it to travel straight toward his opponent's feet!

_Cyborg: "Before my accident I was an athlete, and I was fast as lightning. Now? I guess I ain't slow, not with the boosters built across my body, and I still know how to run, but still, I'm half-metal. Movin' around fast ain't exactly my specialty, and Plasmus is a lot faster than I'dve thought!"_

Leaping with all his hydraulic-backed strength, Victor Stone took to the sky, knowing it was his only chance of being anywhere near fast enough to dodge Plasmus's subterranean attack. It was a good try, too, but the monster was just behind him, propelled into the sky by a trail of protoplasm. Vic started to panic—one touch could even melt through his promethium-reinforced robotics!

Fortunately, the Titan didn't have to experience it, as he was suddenly swallowed up by a bright light! Cyborg hit the ground and saw Plasmus still in the air, across the cavern! The metal-man himself was sitting next to Mal Duncan—the Herald!

"Thanks a million man," said Vic as he got to his feet, his arm folding back into his Sonic Cannon in preparation of the still ongoing battle. "But I thought you didn't like me?"

"I don't," grunted Malcolm, "But hey, you're still one of the good guys..."

As he hit the ground, Plasmus noticed the two boys, and a twisted smile oozed across his face. "Two blackies for the price of one?" he marveled with sick glee. "This really is my lucky day!"

"Racist motherf--er," growled the Herald as he moved his horn to his mouth.

"Ya got that right," agreed Cyborg as he fired his weapon, unleashing a blast of sound waves that, despite his opponent's unusual speed, still dissolved part of his body.

_Cyborg: "'Kay, the Sonic Cannon can actually hurt 'im! Good to know!"_

Though he was reeling a bit from the metal-man's assault, Plasmus didn't waste any time in answering with a string of acidy projectiles. Blowing into his horn, the Herald opened rifts in space that swallowed up each one, and then one beneath the monster itself! His eyes bugging wide, the Brotherhood member leapt out of the way, stretching and pulling himself away from each wormhole the eastern Titan opened.

Landing just short of another hole in space, Plasmus pushed himself forward with all his force, straight towards the two Titans! "Get us out of here!" panicked Cyborg, and as he activated his horn, Mal replied with a look that clearly said, 'What the hell do you think I'm doing?'

Vic and Mal fell through a portal and again landed far behind the monstrous Nazi.

_Cyborg: "Well, nothing we're doing is working. Think, Vic! The Sonic Cannon can actually hurt him, but it's just not big enough! If I could dissolve him in one shot, we could collect him real fast in that containment device Jupiter made to capture him in, but…hey, that's it!"_

"Herald!" called Victor Stone, "Can that horn actually play music too?"

"Yeah," replied Malcolm Duncan with a quizzical expression. "What, you plannin' on serenading him or something?"

"Kinda-sorta," said Cyborg with a laugh. "Just follow my lead, hit the same note I do!"

"You can't do the same trick twice!" yelled Plasmus, having already overtaken the two as he leapt straight towards them. "I will melt your black skin away, reduce your bones to ash, I'll—"

Cyborg grimaced as he aimed his cannon. "Pig." Herald did as he was told, and followed his teammate's attack by playing the same note at full power. Though his horn couldn't focus the sound into an attack as could Vic's cannon, it was able to increase the power of the Sonic Blast! Plasmus was shattered in one swift motion, pieces of pink flying in every direction.

However, already they were starting to crawl back towards each other, ready to regenerate! "Speed, Impulse, somebody get over here quick!" called Victor, not wanting to have to try that again. "And bring the Plasmus holder!"

Instantly the remnants of the protoplasm monster were overtaken by a white and red blur, and soon he was trapped within the device Jupiter had devised to contain him, a magnetic pulse running through the inside to keep him from regenerating. "Plasmus in a can!" laughed Impulse.

"Good job, Herald," said Vic, smiling and extending a hand. "Couldn't have done it without ya."

Though Mal Duncan grinned half a grin, he didn't reciprocate the hand-shake. "No problem. It was nothin'."

_Cyborg: "Well, that was odd. He helped me, but he's still a little icy. Guess I better just wait an' see 'fore I invite him over for any parties."_

Meanwhile, Monsieur Mallah continued to smack around his Tamaranean opponent, and having tired of banter, just roared like any other gorilla would. After all, despite his enhanced intelligence, he was still simply a beast!

_Starfire: "Perhaps a creature such as this outclasses a fragile human, but I should be having no trouble! I was able to wrestle down a Flarbeck easily on Tamaran, and they are several times larger than this beast! Of course, he also has that energy shield protecting him—I guess the head-on approach is a waste of time. Perhaps another strategy is on order…"_

Pulling both her arms behind her back, Princess Koriand'r screamed and immediately thrust them forward, releasing a Starbolt from each. The attack stopped the gorilla dead in his tracks—though not out of fear.

"That is most useless, mademoiselle," smiled Mallah, though he was quite possibly overestimating his defensive system. Giving no attention to his statement Kory carried on with her attack, continuing to fire her energy bolts in a wide, slow moving stream. As they hit her opponent's force field they spread like fire, covering every inch of the field's protective surface. "What—what is this?"

_Starfire: "It was a plan to overtax his protective field, though I dare not reveal that to him in battle. Secrets are not something that should be given away to one's enemy!"_

So, without providing an answer, Kory instead followed up with a smaller, faster, more powerful Starbolt fired from her eyes. It struck in the exact spot where her earlier attacks had, and the combination of such taxing attacks finally shattered Mallah's force field! The French gorilla barely had time to react as Starfire shot forward at top speed, delivering a vicious uppercut to the creature's chin that knocked him out cold.

"But, love…I had love on my side…" stammered Monsieur Mallah, passing out almost before the words passed through his mouth.

"Love does not side with murderers," declared the alien princess. "In love or not, you deserved far more than I gave you—be grateful, beast."

_Starfire: "I think my teammates sometimes misunderstand my stance on killing. I really do loathe it—but those that willingly take innocent lives need to be stopped by any means necessary, and death is certainly the easiest and most effective method, yes? Sometimes, with the way Donna looks at me, I would almost think she thinks me some bloodthirsty monster, but I simply wish justice to be done—and perhaps I have a different idea of it than she does!"_

Perhaps Donna Troy did think that, but at the moment she was a little distracted by the restraints of blinding, searing energy that held her in place and continued to slowly sap the life from her body. Behind her, the master marksman Arsenal was dodging left and right, desperately trying to avoid the fire of the Brain's machinery long enough to actually free his teammate!

"Roy, could you hurry it up a bit?!" demanded Wonder Girl, understandably frustrated. Gritting his teeth, Roy Harper was just as frustrated as he dodged behind another blast. He was trying, but with the Brain's full attention—and his headquarters' full weaponry—aimed towards the two of them, he wasn't being given a chance to do much of anything!

Skidding to a stop, Arsenal was getting winded. He drew a laser pistol with each hand, neutralizing some of the beams heading his way with pinpoint shots, but not even he was fast enough to keep track of all of them! Just as he thought he was going to finally bite the big one, two blasts were intercepted by shocking beams of yellow!

"Need a hand?" asked Bumblebee as she grew to full size behind the marksman.

"Yeah," grunted Roy as he put away his weapons and grabbed for the colossal rifle attached to the back of his belt. "Think you can keep these blasts off me for a bit? I still gotta free Donna before we can do anything else!"

"You got it, boss man," smiled Karen Beecher as she took to the sky, catching the defense system's attention before again shrinking, her small size allowing her to dodge blasts almost effortlessly while at the same time shooting down more with her stingers!

Arsenal, meanwhile, was finally in the clear. Closing one eye, he aimed the massive weapon—good for only one shot, though it was a doozy—and warned his teammate, "If you can Donna, cross your arms! I'm aiming for your bracelets!"

_Wonder Girl: "Yeah, move. An easy thing for him to ask, y'know, having _not _been trapped in an energy grid for five minutes!"_

Still, the half-Amazon was no weakling. Straining with all her strength, she managed to cross her unbreakable bracelets just in time to deflect Roy's blast. Still—as planned—just the pure power it contained sent her flying far from the energy grid, and the recoil did the same to Roy!

Wiping a few loose strands of hair from her eyes, Wonder Girl wasted no time returning to the sky. "That's it, Brain! Enough of your games! Nothing you can throw at me is going to stop me!"

"Preposterous," replied the organ as the menacing eyes on his robotic jar lit up and fired rapid beams of purple energy. "You have barged into my home, Wonder Girl, and here I always have the upper hand."

Barely slowing her charge, Donna Troy slapped aside the projectiles with her bracelets and advanced forward, waiting for an opening to let loose with a full speed charge! Unfortunately, the Titan was bounced like a tennis ball on concrete, not having even touched the Brotherhood leader's jar!

_Wonder Girl: "An energy field. Well now, this is just becoming infuriating!"_

Just as infuriating was Agent Roy Harper's futile struggle to shut off the weapons system. _Everything_ in the damn place was protected by an energy shield! Seething, he pulled back on his bow and started taking pot-shots, letting explosive arrows fly in every direction, just hoping he'd get lucky!

One arrow exploded on the ceiling, and as rubble fell, Roy had found his luck—hidden beneath the cave roof were pipes heading to all the computers and weapons! Laughing, the archer pulled back one more time, not believing it'd be that easy.

"Roy, hold it!" Bumblebee returned to her true size besides her teammate, still deflecting blasts all the while. "Do you even know what those are?! Let me analyze them before you just start blowing stuff up!"

"But I love blowing stuff up," pouted Arsenal, though he didn't let the rejection hamper his skills as he took his turn deflecting attacks while Karen studied the pipes.

"Told ya'," laughed the genius as her scan finished. "Those _do_ carry power to all the cave's systems, but my readings indicate that everything in this place has several hours of reserve power, so blowing it up wouldn't do much good."

Still, Roy Harper's eyes lit up. He had a plan! Flashing the smile girls were never able to resist, he said, "Well don't worry, that's good enough for me! Can you keep these computers off me for a few more minutes?"

"Only if it's a _good_ plan," smiled Bumblebee as she took to the air.

"The best," smiled Arsenal. He pulled half a dozen diamond-tipped arrows from his quiver and tied a steel wire to their ends—the wire was already attached to the arrow loaded in his wrist mounted cross-bow!

Donna Troy skidded across the cave floor, not spending time thinking about her temporary set-back and instead grabbing her lasso. "Ah yes, the lasso," observed Brain. "Quite a dangerous tool. Shame you shall never get to use it."

In response to their master's statement, several dozen long, rotating claws shot from the walls and ceiling, each spinning at ridiculous speeds, hoping to snare her blessed lasso within their grip. Gritting her teeth, Wonder Girl dodged beneath several and hung the weapon back on her belt.

_Wonder Girl: "The Amazons taught me that sometimes a weapon can be more of a disadvantage than an advantage if your opponent knows how to counter it. I suppose this would currently be the case with my lasso. Unfortunately, at the moment it is my_ only_ weapon, but if I can just think of something, it won't matter! I have my brain and everything the Amazons, my sister and the Justice League have taught me! That will have to be enough!"_

Again the Brain attacked with blasts from his body, and again Donna blocked them. Suddenly, that training paid off as an idea came to life in her head! Spinning, the Titans' leader deflected a beam of energy straight back at the Brain, then sped behind it. Grinning, she punched the disembodied organ's shield with all her might at the same exact moment his reflected shot hit home, shattering the barrier and finally allowing her to make contact!

"That was a grave mistake, girl," warned her opponent. Stubborn as ever, Donna dug her fingers into the Brain's jar, and was greeted by an electrical discharge strong enough to stun a yak!

_Wonder Girl: "Knowing when to retreat and restrategize is also vital in battle!"_

The half-Amazon was thrown backwards as she let go, and as she climbed onto her feet, contemplating which angle to take now, she heard Roy yelling to her. "Donna! Do you think you can survive that again? I need a clear shot at his insides!"

_Wonder Girl: "I don't like using our real names in battle, but from Arsenal? I'll let it slip."_

"Of course I can," replied Donna Troy with a sly smile. "But this better be a good plan."

"Why do you girls keep asking that?" gasped Roy, feigning shock. "It's the best!"

Aiming his crossbow towards the Brain, Arsenal waited for his opportunity. Wonder Girl paused for only a brief second, just long enough to beseech, "Gods, give me strength!" Then she was gone like a red, gold and blue bullet, transversing the gap between herself and the Brain in a mere instant.

"You haven't had enough?" asked the Brain, who again activated his electrical discharge as Donna tore into his shell, pulling it open, giving Roy a straight shot.

_Wonder Girl: "The largest thing I wish I could change about this battle? I wish I could have heard the Brain getting nervous as he met his defeat. That monotone, emotionless voice is not only chilling but…you just can't get any satisfaction from defeating it!"_

The arrow fired from Arsenal's crossbow, and the instant it hit its target—the insides of the Brain's mechanical body—the archer turned and fired off the rest of his arrows, which pierced the energy pipes in the ceiling of the cave! The Brain's own electrical discharge traveled across the wire and straight into the pipes—and only moments later the compounds' defensive systems all exploded like fireworks, overloaded from the power coursing through their hardware!

"F--in' a!" cheered Roy, and with the deed done, Donna had nothing else to wait for. With a satisfied grunt she ripped his body in half and crushed the glass dome, letting the Brain's, er, brain fall to the ground unprotected.

However, a second later she caught it in a special jar created by Jupiter's scientists—it kept the Brain alive, but didn't even give him the privilege of speech!

_Wonder Girl: "Hera, was that a trial! Perhaps it serves us right for invading them in their home, but still, they deserved every hit they took. The world will be a better place with this scum under bars."_

"Good job, Roy," said Donna as she recovered, giving the archer a rare compliment. He smiled like he'd won the lottery, though it may have just been because of the beautiful girl he was fighting alongside.

"Thanks," he replied, still returning all his weapons to their rightful holders. "We make a pretty good team, don't we?!"

She had to admit, they did, at least today. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"We should definitely do it more often!"

_Wonder Girl: "And there we have Roy Harper, the legendary ladies man! Dick Grayson should take lessons from him!"_

"Hey, hey! Give credit where it's due!" Growing to her normal size between the two Titans was Bumblebee. "You could never have pulled that off without me!"

Roy intended to do just that, but was interrupted by a loud cry. "Karen!" Suddenly the Herald had leapt into his girlfriend's arms, hugging her tight. "Damn I'm glad you're alright!"

"Of course I am, Mal," replied Karen Beecher, rolling her eyes. "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself." Still, as the embrace continued, she couldn't help but to melt a little. "I'm glad you're okay too, my man…"

"I'm glad to see that we're _all_ okay," added Cyborg, followed by Starfire and Impulse, all dragging their defeated opponents behind them, and tossing them into a pile around the Brain. "But the numbers look kinda slim. We all here?"

"No," answered Raven bluntly, appearing out of nowhere as she always did. "Speed left mid-battle to get Magenta medical attention, but I sense there are several others—from all three teams—who are not present here right now."

_Raven: "Meaning the sense of joy they all felt was quite premature—perhaps the hardest part of the battle was not yet won!"_

Bringing to life the team rosters in his head, Vic did a quick body count. "Raven's right," he said worriedly. "Besides Wally an' Fran, we're missing Dick and Gar, Flamebird and Terra, and…Madame Rouge and Goldilocks…"

_Cyborg: "Damn, that's a bad line-up there!"_

To her credit, Wonder Girl immediately sprang into action. "Raven, use your empathy to search for their mental signature—meanwhile, Impulse, I'm going to need you to canvass this place from top to bottom. If you find them, you are to re—"

"Don't bother," came a voice from behind the girl wonder. The assembled group of Titans turned to see Beast Boy and Terra walking slowly towards them; the limp body of Madame Rouge was held in the boy's arms, her overstretched limbs dragging across the ground behind him as they walked.

Victor Stone didn't need to run any tests to figure it out. "Gar, is she…"

"Yeah," replied Garfield Logan glumly, without ever looking up. "She's dead."

Next time: Shattered Perceptions


	13. Shattered Perceptions

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and all characters are owned by DC Comics

OOC: I've gotten a lot of new reviews since the last chapter, and I really appreciate it guys! Thank you for reading and please, continue with the feedback! It not only helps me improve, but really makes this worthwhile!

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and all characters are owned by DC Comics. It is with great respect to them as well as the other amazing writers who have worked with the Titans over the years that I make this story.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 13: Shattered Perceptions**

**ROLE CALL:**

**THE TEEN TITANS—Teenage heroes and reality TV stars:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

**TITANS EAST—Teenage heroes aiming for fame, fortune, and the honor of being a true Teen Titan!:**

**Flamebird—**Bette Kane: Spoiled rich heiress, athlete, and Robin fangirl.

**Arsenal—**Roy Harper: Former bad-boy sidekick and current government agent and weapon master with perfect aim.

**Impulse—**Bart Allen: Hyperactive super speedster from the future with no understanding of danger.

**Bumblebee—**Karen Beecher: Cybernetic genius with an insect themed power suit.

**The Herald—**Malcolm Duncan: Ex-thug armed with a wormhole generating horn.

**Terra—**Tara Markov: Runaway and wanderer with control over the very Earth itself!

**Magenta—**Francis Kane: Timid girl possessing tremendous magnetic power but cursed by its bi-polar aftereffects.

**THE BROTHERHOOD OF EVIL—Freaks and outcasts seeking revenge, money, or twisted fun as a band of terrorist supervillains:**

**The Brain: **Super-intelligent brain preserved in a robotic jar.

**Monsieur Mallah: **The Brain's love, a fierce ape given human intellect!

**Madame Rouge: **Cruel, sadistic shapeshifter.

**Warp: **Teleporting blue-collar Frenchman.

**Phobia: **Fallen nobility with the ability to bring people's fears to life.

**Plasmus: **Neo-Nazi turned into a protoplasmic pile of living sludge.

**Houngan: **Former scientist with technology simulating voodoo.

**Goldilocks: **Twisted girl with control over her hair and a mind locked in a fairy tale.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

Once upon a time, two teams of freaks and outcasts stood against each other: The Doom Patrol, led by the brilliant neurosurgeon Niles Caulder to fight against the unexplainable and try to regain mankind's trust, and the Brotherhood of Evil, led by the Brain on a mission of revenge. The two teams clashed numerous times over the years before the Brotherhood finally succeeded in their objective and murdered the Doom Patrol.

The only member who escaped the slaughter was the youngest, Garfield Logan, the shapeshifter known as Beast Boy. He was forbidden to go on that last mission by his adoptive father, Steve Dayton, Mento, and the guilt still haunts him to this day. Finding himself without a family for the second time in his life, Garfield eventually joined up with the Teen Titans, a reality show setting up a group of superheroes.

Earlier, Gar fell in love at first sight as he met Terra, a member of a group of Titan fans called Titans East. The two teams were sent on a mission of great personal significance to Garfield Logan: A mission to take down the Brotherhood!

And take them down the Titans have! Six Brotherhood members currently lay defeated at the feet of the teen powerhouses: but two still fight on!

Or perhaps only _one_. As we last saw our heroes, Beast Boy and Terra had emerged with a very defeated Madame Rouge in their arms—only to reveal that she was dead!

How, you ask? What, did you think I would go this far without telling you? Before we get to that story, however, let's check in on the other two Titans still fighting the fine fight: Robin, the acrobat extraordinaire, and his number one fan, Flamebird! When we last saw them, both had been captured by the delusional little girl, Goldilocks…

**EARLIER**

**ON THE AIR—THE BROTHERHOOD OF EVIL'S BASE, ZANDIA. GOLDILOCK'S ROOM**

Dick Grayson slowly started to regain consciousness. Last he remembered he'd been…wrapped tight in the almost living hair of the Brotherhood member known as Goldilocks, along with his greatest fan—and the greatest thorn in his side—Bette Kane. As he managed to open his eyes, he saw both girls. Flamebird was restrained—as he was—directly across from him, tied to a chair.

A tiny blade snapped open from the finger of Robin's glove as he slowly started to saw away at the ropes that held him in place.

_Robin: "'Kay, I have to get this over with as soon as I can. Bette's heart is in the right place, but I think she thinks you can just put on a cape and become a super-hero without any work! I guess that's kinda my fault…I just make this look so g—damn easy!_

_"Anyway, I don't need her making this any more dangerous than it already is. She don't realize the training I do, that this really _is_ work! She just wants to impress me—as if that's possible with _Kory_ around—and if she's tryin' to show off, she's not gonna be paying attention to Goldilocks._

_"Nah, I can end this real fast, as long as I can stay quiet for just another minute…"_

Dick moved his finger as slow as he could, slicing through one strand of the rope that bound him at a time. He didn't dare risk letting Goldilocks notice he was awake! As he sawed away, he took a quick look at the room. Its interior emulated a rustic cabin. Three spots were set at the table, and three beds lined the wall, with three chairs in front of a small television that didn't look like it actually worked. By the middle bed was a bookshelf, and though it was filled to the brim, Robin silently sighed as he realized:

_Robin: "Every book was the same! It was just, like, fifty f--ing trillion copies of Goldilocks and the three bears! I don't need little Robin's detective lessons for this—the girl's obsessed! Hell, I guess this explains all that 'you're just right' s-- she was spoutin' off earlier._

_"Well, now I wished I had cared more about this book. I always thought Goldilocks was a pretty damn stupid story. Why the hell would the bears leave their doors unlocked—and the little girl's a thief, so how's she the hero? Doesn't she chop the bears up or something? Or am I thinking of the wrong story?_

_"Yeah, definitely should've paid more attention. Now if I screw this up, I won't know what the psycho'll do! So, y'know, only one choice here: don't f-- up!"_

Precious minutes passed as Dick finally broke through one bond and then another. With both hands unbound, the acrobat silently reached into his utility belt and pulled out a small disk of explosives. Its force would be just strong enough to knock Goldilocks unconscious without killing her, provided it hit the girl head-on—and Robin was certainly more-than-capable of such a shot.

However, it was about that time that Flamebird started to come to. Hearing her moan, Dick quickly closed his eyes, hid his explosives in the palm of his hand, and went limp.

"D—Dick?" stuttered Bette Kane as she opened her eyes to found herself bound, and her crush in the same position across from her! "What's going on?! If you hurt him—"

"Oh boy!" exclaimed Goldilocks, turning around from the miniature-sized stove she was cooking at and prancing to the Titans East-er's side. "If you're awake then Robin'll be soon too!"

"I'll never let you hurt him!" snarled Flamebird. Dick restrained a grin as his hand moved slightly—their enemy now stood between the two Titans, so as long as he could go unnoticed for a second more, they'd be home free!

"I would never hurt my dumpling," replied Goldilocks, pouting slightly. "Robin is just right for me! He'll fill the big chair, and together we'll fit the big bed! The only thing in the way right now is you!" Her hair snaked to the stove, grabbing a pot full of bubbling brown goo and pulling it close to Bette's face. "Don't worry though, poison porridge should take care of that!"

_Robin: "Hm, porridge always seemed close enough to poison on its own!"_

Bette strained as a strand of the girl's golden hair took a spoonful of the deadly concoction and moved towards her mouth. Frowning, Robin knew he only had one chance to finish this before his teammate was toast—and as he tossed his disk, Flamebird noticed him!

"Dick!" she exclaimed, her face filled with joy. Unfortunately, Robin wasn't as happy—because, even with just a split second to retaliate, Bette's interference alerted Goldilocks of his presence! Even though she was facing another direction entirely, her hair leapt to life and intercepted his explosives—though all were rocked by their power, the psychotic little girl was still standing!

Not wasting any time, Dick Grayson fell forward, landing on his hands and hoisting his lower body—still tied to a chair—off the floor. Gritting his teeth, he propelled himself into the air and somersaulted, falling chair first towards his enemy!

_Robin: "C'mon now, television audience, tell me that wasn't cool!"_

However, Goldilocks seemed convinced to be just as cool with her moves! Several strands of hair lengthened as they shot into the floor, pulling the girl into the air and away from Robin's attack as if they were spider legs! The chair shattered as Dick landed, and the acrobat wasted no time in pulling the broken chair legs from behind his own legs and twirling them in his hands like weapons.

"Go Robin!" cheered Flamebird—much to the frustrated boy's chagrin—as he launched one of the makeshift escrima sticks forward. Goldilocks easily caught it and hurled it back with a tentacle-like strand of hair, but with pinpoint precision Dick launched the second chair leg. It struck the first head on, again reversing its target as it traveled—with twice the speed—straight through the field of curls and into her face!

Two of his razor-sharp redbird boomerangs dropped into his hands as Robin turned to free Flamebird—and found her already free, brushing a few spots of dripped poison porridge from her uniform. "Bette, how'd you—"

"Why would you think I couldn't get out?" asked Bette Kane, honestly confused.

_Robin: "I dunno, maybe 'cause doin' stuff like that's _hard_?!"_

A tiny flame shot from the palm of her glove. "I have little, tiny flamethrowers in my gloves! They don't last too long, but they were enough to burn the ropes off me! Aren't they neat?!"

"Yeah, awesome," replied Dick drably, not really thinking as he eyed his opponent. Goldilocks was on her butt, crying, not paying the slightest attention to _either_ Titan—so the acrobat threw the two redbirds he'd palmed, having nothing better to do with them.

Though she never looked up, two locks of the girl's hair came to life and swatted the projectiles from the sky! "How could you?" sobbed Goldilocks. "How could you hurt me?! You're just right for me!"

"Listen girl," growled Dick, "Right about now the only thing '_just right'_ for you is a straight-jacket!" Looking at Bette for a split second, he added, "And the only girl _I'm_ just right for is Kory!"

"Then I was wrong," replied the Brotherhood member, her voice regaining a steady tone as her tears dried up. "You weren't just right at all—you're too mean!" As if they were reacting to her anger, every strand of her hair started to writhe on its own before shooting forward, a blizzard of deadly golden locks heading straight for the two Titans!

_Robin: "What, you think I don't have a plan? Jeez, don't you people know better? Just so happens that right about then I spotted just what we needed!"_

"Bette, I have a plan!" exclaimed the acrobat as he leapt into the air, launching a grappling launcher that anchored itself directly across the room. "Stay alive, and follow my lead!"

"Stay alive?" echoed Flamebird quizzically as she tumbled beneath two spiraling streams of hair, then leapt above a third, putting all those thousands of dollars her father spent on personal trainers to good use. "Heh, as if I'd let myself get offed by this bozo!"

As the zip-line retracted the grapple launcher and pulled Dick Grayson across Goldilocks' room at break-neck speeds, he twisted and turned, avoiding every attack that came his way. Finally the girl got smart as one of her locks sliced through his line, but by then Dick had found what he needed anyway, and as he landed and rolled into a tumble he grabbed an aerosol can of PAM butter spray from the stove and tossed it to Flamebird.

"So you like a girl that can cook?" asked Bette, confused as to the item's significance.

Robin smacked himself in the face. "No, it's flammable! Max out your flamethrower! Use everything they've got left!"

A wicked smile crawled across Bette Kane's face. "You got it!"

"You wouldn't!" gasped Goldilocks, her expression locked in one of sheer terror.

"Then you don't know us very well!" exclaimed Bette as she sprayed the girl's hair and unleashed the rest of her wrist-mounted flamethrower's fuel. Goldilocks lit up like a torch, trying desperately to put out her flaming hair but finding it futile. It only took a few moments for all her hair to burn up completely, leaving her head smooth as a cue-ball.

Dick and Bette exchanged satisfied smirks and approached their enemy. "Y'know," laughed Robin, "They do make Rogain for Women."

Tears welled in the corners of Goldilocks' eyes. "That's…not…_funny_!" she screamed. Stubble appeared on her bald head, growing amazingly fast into a full head of hair, which immediately extended back to its original length as she whipped her head around, tagging both heroes in their stomachs with a long lash of hair.

_Robin: "Dammit, she can just grow her hair back! G--_damn_it I wish Bette hadn't screwed up my toss back when she first woke up, cause I dunno if I can take her now!"_

"How can you be so mean?!" wailed the girl as her hair separated, and the individual strands assaulted the Titans from all directions. Dick countered with his staff, spinning it in front of him like a fan, tangling his enemy's locks around the metal pole. Flamebird, however, wasn't quite as lucky, and was quickly pulled off her feet and held restrained in the air.

"Talk about unmanageable hair!" quipped Bette as she struggled. Finally she freed one of her arms, which held a boomerang shaped like herself, wearing a winter coat. "I think you need a better conditioner!" Tossing the Flamebirdarang, the heiress braced herself, and as a blue explosion sent icy shards traveling across a large portion of Goldilocks' hair, she was able to shatter her prison and set herself free!

_Robin: "Good move—and the pun wasn't half bad either!"_

Razor-edged tresses launched one after the other as Flamebird evaded them, somersaulting over one and sending her foot straight into the girl's face. Blood flew from Goldilocks' nose as she flew backwards, but her hair again anchored into the ground, steadying her fall as several more whip-like strands knocked Bette Kane off her feet.

"Quit hitting me!" cried Goldilocks, her rage growing with every hit, almost like a berserker! She obviously wasn't mentally stable—not that this was debatable before, mind you.

_Robin: "Okay, this is a pretty big problem! Our weapons are never gonna make it through all her freaking hair, and if she keeps getting angrier, we aren't gonna be able to pretty soon either! Who knows if Bette can get close again, and as fast as she's throwin' her hair around now, I probably only'll be able to one more time! How can I finish her when I don't have that much time to be throwing out a million hits!_

_"Alright, answerin' my own question here, but that's cause I'm just smart enough to figure out the right answer! Pressure points! After Batman pulled a few out on me, I read up a bit on 'em! Haven't gotten a chance to use 'em yet, but c'mon guys, it's me! I'm definitely gonna remember where they all are! No _way_ she'll still be conscious after I hit two or three of 'em!"_

"Bette!" called Dick, "Can you keep her busy for a few secs?!"

"Is that all you think I can do?" asked Flamebird with a touch of indignance as she ducked beneath a golden whip that grew increasingly faster with each lash. "Oh well, of course I can Dick! Show her how it's done!"

As that same strand of hair came in for another attack, Bette just barely managed to side-step it and grab on tight, yanking as hard as she could in hopes of tossing the Brotherhood member. Alas, Goldilocks just let her hair grow as the Titan East-er pulled, negating the entire effect. Flamebird's eyes bulged as the appendage wrapped around her, again ensnaring the girl!

"Can't get enough of my hugs?" asked Goldilocks with a sick grin. "They're gonna squeeze the stuffing out of you!"

"I like hugs from guys, thank-you-very-much!" declared Flamebird as she sliced through her prison with two Flamebirdarangs. Launching the self-indulgent boomerangs kept her opponent just distracted enough for Bette to slide across the floor one of her knock-out gas bombs!

"Too…smoky…" Goldilocks stammered as her knees started to go weak. Fortunately, her hair responded for her, two locks spinning like a fan, blowing away the gas!

However, suddenly Robin's grappling launcher wrapped around the girl's waste, pulling the acrobat extraordinaire in close! Having Dick that close to her had always been Goldilocks' dream, but now it proved to be her undoing as he savagely struck six or seven times in rapid succession, each time with two fingers targeting various pressure points across the body. Goldilocks' limbs started to go numb, her vision hazy, and finally she hurled before falling to the ground, unconscious.

Robin just panted. For once, he didn't have anything to say. That was a lot harder than it should have been!

"Oh boy! That was wonderful Dick!" Suddenly Flamebird had the boy in tight embrace, but he wasn't paying much attention to her. "Man-o-man do we make a good team!"

_Robin: "Do we? Sure she helped me beat Goldilocks, but only after she f--ed up my first try, which would've been a _hell_uva lot easier! Give Bette some time, some _focus_, and she'll be f--ing sweet at this, but as she is, she's more dangerous than helpful. Damn. How do you tell a chick that?!"_

**BEAST BOY AND TERRA—MADAME ROUGE'S ROOM**

With a soft groan Tara Markov—the runaway princess of Markovia forcibly given the ability to move earth with her mind—awoke to find herself locked away within a clear cylinder. Last she could remember she'd been captured by Madame Rouge, the sadistic shapeshifter, so this came as no surprise. What did surprise her, though, was that when she tried to use her powers, there was no response!

She didn't linger on that thought for too long though—because it was about then that she noticed Beast Boy! She'd become quite fond of the tiny green animal shapeshifter in the short time she'd known him, and thus was pretty pissed to see him across from her, shackled down with a thick collar across his neck.

"Gar?! GAR?!"

"Now now girl," cooed Rouge, her neck stretching close to Terra as the rest of her body, slowly sauntering, caught up. In her hand she had a cigarette held in a long black stick, and as she tapped the ashes off she chuckled and smirked evilly. "He's had a long day, and needs his rest."

"What's going on here?!" Tara was seething. "Give me some answers, bitch!"

Madame Rouge didn't lose one iota of her cool. "Your little boyfriend is all that remains of the Doom Patrol, and I cannot allow any traces of Caulder to exist! As for you, that cylinder is strangling your terrakinesis' contact with the Earth, making you harmless as a kitten. I'll kill you in due time, but first…you're going to watch me kill Beast Boy."

Tara Markov liked to think of herself as hardened and tough. It was certainly the image she allowed others to see. Yet, deep down inside she was a scared, broken girl, traumatized by so much…and now was when that side of her came out. Banging the sides of the cylinder, tears started to leak from the corners of her eyes. "Why?!"

"Why not?" replied Rouge, shrugging casually.

"…Rouge…" Finally Garfield Logan was awake, stumbling over his words, but conscious nonetheless. "Why…why do all of you _hate_ us…the Chief loved you, and you…you…"

_Beast Boy: "Yeah, believe it or not, the Chief and Madame Rouge were once an item! It was before I was on the team, and before it could go too far, the Brotherhood kidnapped her! They must've brainwashed her or somethin', cause she's been like _this_ ever since! But…can brainwashing last that long?"_

"I NEVER LOVED HIM!" screamed Rouge, swinging her arm across the room like a whip to backhand the green boy. With her attention focused on Beast Boy, Terra knew it was time to act—a tiny field of yellow appeared around her gloves, and small mounds of dirt flew out of her belt.

When Tara had traveled across the Atlantic to America, she quickly discovered how useless her powers were on the ocean. While she certainly couldn't carry a quarry in her belt, she found a little dirt came in handy for situations like this! She strained, and shaped the mudballs into razor sharp picks.

"Caulder _made_ me love him!" continued Rouge as her elastic body took on the appearance of the late Doom Patrol leader himself. "He…turned me into this! Just like—" One by one she transformed into the Doom Patrol: Negative Man, Robotman, Elasti-Girl, Mento, and Beast Boy, before returning to her normal state. "—Just like he made the Doom Patrol!"

"Don't listen to her Gar!" cried Terra as she thrusted her hands forward, letting her stones shatter the cylinder and soar straight towards the changeling. "Heads up!" The earth-mover's projectiles swerved past their elastic foe and shattered the collar, a sophisticated device that restrained his abilities.

_Beast Boy: "Man, isn't she awesome?! She's keepin' her cool and fighting back, but me…I'm too distracted by Rouge! I dunno if what she's sayin' is true or not, but I gotta find out!"_

Garfield shrank into a hummingbird the second he gained his freedom—meanwhile, his crush released as much power as she could, regaining contact with her precious Earth and raising a boulder to shatter her prison. Flittering above his opponent, Beast Boy grew into a hippo, but with the proper leverage Rouge was easily able to slap him aside like it was nothing.

Skidding across the floor, the boy resumed his human form. "What're you talking about?! The Chief saved the Doom Patrol from their accidents!"

"_SAVED?!"_ A nimble somersault as a chimpanzee saved the tiny changeling from the Brotherhood member's enlarged fist smashing down like a hammer. Behind her Terra was preparing to attack, but Rouge's legs sharpened to a point and dove under the ground, both popping out around the Titans East-er and, taking the shape of cymbals, crashing around her. Quick thinking saved the girl though, as a rock erupted beneath her and carried her far above the attack.

"Quick trying to distract him!" commanded Terra as stones erupted from the wall.

"Distract him?" The elastic maiden grimaced. "I am simply telling the boy the truth! He may have been a member of the Doom Patrol, but he did not know his leader at all!"

_Beast Boy: "She has a point there. Chief brought us together and let me stay when I ran across the DP, so I was always grateful to him, but…he didn't talk to us much. He hid in his lab 'til it was time to fight, then he bossed us around! I dunno if _any_ of us really knew him!"_

Madame Rouge's hands flattened into sharp blades as she started rotating at her waste, spinning her elongated arms across the room and leaving havoc in her wake. "So let me fill you in. Niles Caulder may have been a brilliant surgeon and scientist, but he was a rotten, selfish person! He took nobody's feelings into consideration but his own, and he craved glory and recognition! Being the world's most famous neurosurgeon wasn't enough for him! He wanted more!

"Envious of the fame being received by the then newly formed Justice League, he decided to form a super hero group of his own! Of course, super heroes don't just grow on trees, especially ones a control freak like Caulder could keep a leash on, so he decided to make some who would be dependent on him! He sabotaged Cliff Steele's racecar and caused his accident, sent Larry Trainor's plane through a radioactive storm he had created, manufactured those 'volcanic gases' Rita Farr was exposed to on her movie shoot, even planted the schematics for Steve Dayton's Mento helmet into his systems, though of course hidden within was programming to ensure Dayton would remain under Caulder's complete control…"

_Beast Boy: "Wait…does that mean that _I'm_ all his fault too? Did he send that green monkey after me? Did he make my parents' accident too so he could get his hands on me? Is this even true?! I don't wanna believe it, but even the Brain said something like this when we first got here…"_

"In fact, the only member he didn't create with his twisted sense of purpose was you, though that doesn't mean he didn't manipulate you just as badly!"

_Beast Boy: "Okay. Hm. That should make me feel better, but it doesn't…" _

Gar's chimpanzee form somersaulted around the shapeshifter's razor sharp limbs, seemingly preoccupied simply with staying alive, not with attacking. However, Terra more than made up for this, zigging and zagging atop a floating crag while at the same time launching as many rocks as she could—and her assault was useless, only bouncing off Rouge without leaving a dent.

"Get it together Gar!" screamed Tara, worried.

_Beast Boy: "I'm trying, but…I've always wanted to know why the Brotherhood hated the DP so much! Maybe even more than revenge I've just wanted to know, y'know, _why_?! Madame Rouge might just have the answers, and what's scary is, I lived with the Chief for like four or five years, and all that time together is just helpin' convince me that she might be _right_…"_

The elastic femme fatale grinned deviously. "And even after all that, after the Doom Patrol found their own type of fame, Caulder wanted more! I was once an actress named Laura De Mille, and Caulder became obsessed with me from the moment he saw me! One day he propositioned me, but already having a boyfriend, I rejected him. The old man couldn't take it, and decided to turn me into one of his freaks! I was kidnapped and brainwashed, and given my elastic abilities! For a whole _year_ I was a member of the Doom Patrol, and your teammates never knew me as anything more than Caulder's doting shrew!

"Finally one day he sent me on an undercover mission into the newly founded Brotherhood of Evil's base. I was supposed to use my shapeshifting abilities to pass unnoticed, but the Brain was anticipating me. He set a trap, captured me, and reversed my brain washing. Finally I was able to see the truth about Caulder—and then the Brain showed me more!

"He revealed that, long before the Doom Patrol was created, he had worked in a lab with Caulder. The Brain had experimented on raising simian intelligence, and Monsieur Mallah was his first triumph! Jealous over his success, Caulder attempted to kill him, but Mallah managed to save his Brain and build his life-support jar!

"Brain and I were united from that day out on a mission of revenge—and tell me, Beast Boy, don't you think they deserved it?!"

"Don't listen to her Beast Boy!" pleaded Terra as she sent the ground beneath Madame Rouge flying. "She's a liar!"

Rouge's legs merged together and formed a cup that caught her opponent's attacks and threw them straight back at her. "Aren't you getting tired of repeating yourself, girl?"

Gasping, Tara used her powers to freeze her returned attack, but by then the elastic sadist was already on the offensive, stretching her fingers into ten razor-sharp blades. Leaping off her floating rock, she used it to block Rouge's attacks, and whipped up a small dust storm to slow her descent. Wiping her hair from her eyes as she landed, she replied, "Aren't you tired of being Madame Exposition?"

"I believe her, Tara." Both women stopped in their tracks. "I dunno if I can explain it but…I knew the Chief. I ignored most of what he did cause I was just happy to have a family, but really, he was a class-A jerk. As much as I don't wanna, I can see him bein' manipulative. We barely left the mansion—I couldn't even go to school! He constantly told us we were freaks!"

_Beast Boy: "No wonder I have no self esteem."_

"Then," asked Rouge slyly, "You understand why I had to kill them, right?"

"I get why you'd want to kill the Chief, yeah," admitted Garfield Logan. Terra gasped, but the green boy's face did not show a single sign of defeat. "But that didn't give you the right to! And you had _NO_ reason to kill the rest of the Patrol! They knew as little as I did!"

Again, the wicked shapeshifter dismissed this with a shrug. "Anything that reminds me of Caulder simply cannot be allowed to exist—including you."

_Beast Boy: "And there ya go. I don't think I've ever hated anybody more! With everything she told me about the Chief, I was pretty crushed. I have to re-think my whole childhood! It doesn't change mom or dad or Cliff or Larry but still…I'dve much rather never known! And even with all that stuff, she's still psychotic to take it out on all of us!"_

"No," replied Beast Boy sternly. "You're wrong!" And suddenly he became a green bull, the floor rumbling as he charged the psychotic Brotherhood member. Grinning, her hands flattened and spread beneath the changeling like spilt water, and she flipped him into the air like a flapjack.

"Atta boy Gar!" exclaimed Terra, happy to see him back in action even if it wasn't very effective. Her whole body lit up yellow as she slammed her hands onto the ground—it started to give way beneath her. A jagged fissure opened up across the floor, unleashing a flume of lava that erupted right around Rouge! "I can't control lava like my brother, but that don't mean I can't tap into a volcano and make it erupt—and there sure are a lot around here!"

_Beast Boy: "Great move! Our physical attacks can't do much to somebody like Rouge, but heat, ice, electricity, energy, those things can hurt 'er bad!"_

Unfortunately for the two Titans, their opponent was endlessly flexible. She stretched backwards in an impossible pose, narrowly avoiding the deadly magma. Her skin got hot and loose as it started to melt a bit, but no permanent damage was done. As she fell she wrapped her body tight into a ball and rolled at top speed, rolling down Gar in grizzly bear form.

_Beast Boy: "Of course, the one time I don't choose an armored animal…"_

While he was still reeling, Rouge turned her attention to Terra. "That actually hurt!" she exclaimed as she lashed out with both arms towards the Earth-mover. It wasn't hard for her to use the ground to defend herself, but as the shapeshifter's long arms met Tara's defenses, her legs popped through the ground and knocked her off balance. "You're too dangerous to keep alive! It will be just as painful for _him_ to watch _you_ die first!"

She struck with her arm, catching the Titan East-er and flinging her across the room, dragging her across a wall until she fell to the ground, half buried in rocks. Inside of Garfield Logan, something snapped.

_Beast Boy: "I don't care if she hurts me, but there's no _WAY _I'm letting her hurt Tara!"_

Suddenly he'd gained his second wind, and was charging Rouge as a cheetah. He deftly dashed besides two of her attacks before slithering under a third as a snake. He leapt into the air using a gazelle's powerful hind legs, but as Rouge's arm lunged towards his head, he shrank beneath it as a dog.

And, amazingly, he had Rouge on the ground, her head pinned by Gar's massive hands. He'd taken the form of a Gordanian, the aliens that waged war against Starfire's world and recently attacked them at the Warrior's club. With a deep bellow of a scream he started spinning, gripping her rubbery head so hard it started to squeeze through his fingers. Her neck stretched and her body ground against the wall—she was already retaliating with her arms, but she was disoriented, and Garfield was on the run.

Lost in a fugue Beast Boy slammed her head into one of her own machines. "You took my family away!" he screamed in the frightening Gordanian voice as electricity started to surge through her body. Her elastic form offered her some protection, but it still took a toll. "You took them away from me for no good reason!"

He ran along the wall, bashing her head through every machine he could find. "You killed the only people who cared about me! And now you threaten _Tara?!_ NO! You're not going to take her away too! I _love_ her!"

As Gar drug the vicious shapeshifter through the last of her own machinery, he tossed her into the air. The electricity had caused some damage—her body was becoming unstable, but if she didn't fight with all her might, she might just die anyway! Madame Rouge's legs grew to meet the ground as she tried her best to beef up her mass, and launched both her tremendous arms towards the shapeshifter.

"No you _don't_!" he cried as he shrank beneath it, stretching endlessly into the sky. His transformation seemed erratic, but in a matter of seconds he had become a giant green dragon, smoke puffing from his nose as he soared towards the Brotherhood General.

_Beast Boy: "Y'know, I have _no_ idea how I did that. I'm only supposed to be able to be real animals, but I was so pissed that I just started changin' and didn't really even know what I was becoming. It hurt like crazy, I thought my whole body was going to fall apart, but, geez, all I cared about was hurting Rouge. Stupid!"_

Rouge's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "But…_how?!_" Gar didn't give her time to respond, launching a searing stream of fire from his mythical mouth. His opponent's screams echoed through the cave as she fried, but she still wasn't done, striking with her leg in a last ditch attempt to save herself.

Beast Boy span low, knocking both of her legs from beneath her and canceling her attack with his long dragon tail, then spinning again and striking with it from above, knocking her to the ground.

_Beast Boy: "She was probably out then…why didn't I stop, why?! Stupid, stupid, stupid!"_

It was around this time that Terra finally awoke, and couldn't believe what she saw! Garfield was shrinking, transforming into some sort of gargantuan monsterwith arms as thick as redwoods. "Gar, no! Don't do it!" she cried, but it was in vain. He pulled his arms behind him and fell, striking with both fists clasped together as he hit the ground. The floor cracked and dust filled the air.

"Gar no! No no no no no…" The no's kept trailing from her mouth as she ran to the point of impact, blowing aside the dust with her powers, until she saw Gar standing beside Madame Rouge, battered and half-melted on the ground. She wasn't breathing.

"Gar?" she gasped. "What did you _do?!_"

"I beat her," said Beast Boy, out of breath, "Didn't I? I beat her, I…" As her saw her complete and total lack of movement, it hit him like the proverbial ton of bricks. "…I killed her, didn't I?" He dropped to his knees, tears leaking down his cheeks.

"It's okay Gar," choked Tara as she dropped to embrace the sobbing shapeshifter.

"I…I didn't mean to," said the boy between sobs. "I got so carried away, I hated her so much…"

_Beast Boy: "I didn't mean to kill her…but I _wanted_ to the entire time…oh god oh god…"_

"It'll be okay Gar, I promise." Once Beast Boy had promised to protect Tara if her powers went out of control—now, she was returning the favor. "I'll make _sure_ it's okay…"

"But don't you understand?!" exclaimed Gar while gasping for breath. "You said it yourself! Wonder Girl doesn't understand us! This was an accident, but she'll never forgive me…I don't know if I even _should_ be forgiven…I'm no hero…"

Terra sighed and kissed the changeling on the cheek. "You're the biggest hero I know, Gar. Please, don't worry. I'll take care of Wonder Girl. I'll make sure everything's okay…"

**NOW**

**THE MAIN CHAMBER OF THE BROTHERHOOD'S HIDEOUT **

As Goldilocks and Madame Rouge were being taken care of, the rest of the Teen Titans and the Titans East dealt with the rest of the Brotherhood, leaving the Brain, Monsieur Mallah, Warp, Phobia, Plasmus and Houngan unconscious at their feet, half of them restrained by special inventions of Mr. Jupiter's design.

However, despite this great victory, most of the team was simply shocked at the sight they now beheld: Beast Boy and Terra returning with a _very_ dead-looking Madame Rouge in their arms!

Victor Stone's eyes grew wide. "Gar, is she…"

"Yeah," replied Garfield Logan glumly, without ever looking up. "She's dead."

_Cyborg: "Uh-oh. I dunno what happened in there, but no matter what it was, it's gonna tear the poor kid apart!"_

"Hey everybody, glad to see you're all okay!" exclaimed Flamebird from behind the group. She and Robin were dragging Goldilocks, unconscious, by her hair. As they spotted Gar, however, both their jaws dropped.

"Holy f--ing s--!" uttered Dick, "What happened to Rouge?!"

"That's what we're _trying_ to find out," growled Wonder Girl, her arms crossed. Gar sighed even harder, becoming more and more convinced that this was hopeless.

_Raven: "Beast Boy is simply teeming with strong emotions. I can sense guilt and terror, anxiety and hopelessness…were he fifty years older, I would imagine he would be having a heart attack right now. Yet, Terra too is feeling guilt, though her guilt seems laced with traces of both determination and…duty."_

"What happened here, Beast Boy?" asked Donna, laying her 'leader act' on thick.

"I killed her." Garfield's jaw dropped to the ground, as did the jaw of every other Titan on both teams—because the one speaking those words wasn't Gar, but Terra! "I'm sorry guys," continued the blonde Earth mover as her crush's heart dropped into his feet, "I never told you this, but…I have a lot of trouble controlling my powers. When I saw Madame Rouge taunting Gar and nearly killing him, I lost it! I couldn't control my powers anymore and…and I did this to her…"

_Beast Boy: "No! She shouldn't be doing this! I don't want her to take the rap for me! I…can't believe she even would. Wow. She's…too good for me…far too good."_

But Terra felt that this was her _only_ option. Gar had so much more to lose than her. She was a wanderer, and she would've had to move on from Titans East eventually anyway, she figured. But Gar had just settled down again, and just found another family again. No, Terra thought, she had to save him. After all, he had said he _loved_ her, and, well…she thought that she might just love him too! For the first time in years, Tara Markov felt genuinely happy.

"You lost control?" Donna Troy was flabbergasted. "Why would you be on a team when you can't control your powers?!"

"Not all of us can be big hot-shot super-heroes right away, Wonder Girl," growled Flamebird. "We're doing the best we can on Titans East!"

_Robin: "But is that enough?"_

Tara, however, had a different opinion. "No Bette, she's right. I shouldn't have joined you guys. I was hoping having so many people around would mean I wouldn't have to work as hard and wouldn't lose control, or that I would learn from you…but all I did was put you in danger from _me_. It's not fair, and…I'm sorry."

_Beast Boy: "And wow, she's…such a great liar. She must hate me so much for doing this to her. I feel like such a screw-up…"_

Yet, that was the last thing on Terra's mind. Indeed, she was happy to finally be able to do the right thing, to make somebody happy. It broke her heart to break _Gar's_ heart, but at the same time, he'd be better for it. After all, he was the only person who'd _ever_ been sad to see her go when she'd pulled one of her exits.

He looked at her longingly, the look on his face saying, 'Don't go!'

Her expression replied with, 'I have to. I'm sorry.'

He understood, even if he didn't want to. 'Thank you.'

Her face lit up. 'Anything for you.'

The earth-mover reached her hand into the air, and created a hole in the cavern roof. "I don't feel right being on this team anymore, after all of this." She floated into the air on a tiny rock, towards the hole she'd created.

_Wonder Girl: "Wow, that takes guts to do that. I'm sure I was a little hard on her, but she has the makings of a fantastic hero. I wish she could go out there and takes control, but…it's not that easy. She can't just walk away from killing somebody, no matter what her potential!"_

"You can't just fly out of here!" exclaimed Donna. "This whole thing aired on TV! I'll vouch for your intentions and character, but the law isn't going to just let you walk away from this!"

Tara actually chuckled. "Wonder Girl, we're in _Zandia_. If the US had any control over the law here, do you think the country would be full of super-villains?"

_Wonder Girl: "Touche Terra, touche."_

_Beast Boy: "Wait, so she…can't come back?! No…"_

"Wait Tara!" Bette cried. "Don't go!"

"I don't really have a choice," replied the now former Titan East-er. As she finally reached her hole and started to float out of the cave, she waved. "Goodbye everybody. Thanks for being so great…"

And like that she was gone. A tumult of emotions raged in Gar's stomach like a hurricane.

_Beast Boy: "I just stood there and…and let the only girl I ever loved take the rap for me an' just fly outta my life…after killing a villain. I feel like scum. I should've tried to stop her, or just admitted it all, but…I get the feeling this was how she _wanted_ it. She seemed…happy to be able to help me. So why can't I stop hating myself?"_

Victor Stone just stared at the boy, troubled by his pain.

_Cyborg: "The kid's first crush just killed somebody and flew away…an' I was the one that got 'em together in the first place. I feel so guilty. I want to rush right in there and try to make everything better like I always do…but that's why he got so mad at me in the first place. Damn I wish I was still his best friend right now."_

"You!" Flamebird, however, had a different response to the series of events. "You drove her away!" screamed the heiress, pointing at Donna. "You couldn't have defeated these guys without us, so how can you tell us we're not good enough!"

_Wonder Girl: "I don't…recall saying that. I was upset because her teammate _killed _somebody, and I _can't_ ignore the law, but I never told Terra she wasn't good! In fact, I thought the opposite!"_

"But Bette…" Flamebird turned to face Dick, standing behind her, slightly confused about what he might have to say. She figured he'd be throwing herself at him after she helped him beat Goldilocks…but he didn't look that happy! "In battle just ain't the place to learn to fight crime! If you'd put some time into training and learnin' stuff you'd be _awesome_, but right now you're more trouble than you're worth!"

_Starfire and Wonder Girl (Simultaneously): "That came from _Dick_?!"_

Bette Kane felt like a twenty ton safe had been dropped on her heart. "What are you talking about, Dick?! Without me you wouldn't have been able to hit Goldilocks when you knocked her out!"

"I wouldn't've _had_ to! I could've defeated her when we were tied up and she had her back to me if you hadn't've started yelling 'Oh _hi_ Dick, glad to see you awake over there tryin' to defeat the chick that captured us!' Real smart Bette!"

"So what, Dick, what're you saying? That I can't be a hero cause I'm not taking this seriously?!"

"Yeah…yeah, I guess so!"

_Robin: "Honestly, by that point I was so confused I didn't know what the hell I was talkin' about. I just knew I had to say _somethin' _to her about all this…"_

"But that's not fair! You don't act serious about any of this!"

"But I am!" stuttered Dick. "Even if I don't act it, I am!"

_Robin: "I take all of this seriously! Does that mean I can't joke around and make jokes too? I train enough and think ahead enough to do that, right?! Right?"_

"Forget it, Dick," growled the girl. She'd only formed this team to meet Robin, her crush. She became a hero to impress him. Yeah, _that_ really worked out. "If you think I'm that bad, then I'm done. I quit! Consider Titans East over!"

_Robin: "Holy s--! I didn't expect her to go that far! But then again…if she wasn't gonna work hard to get better, maybe it was the best thing she could do, y'know?"_

She turned her back to the other team of Titans and stormed past the Herald. "Mal, get us home." Not even Mal Duncan wanted to trifle with a pissed off Bette Kane, and he blew into his Gabriel Horn, opening a rift back to New York City.

Bette wasted no time in walking through, and since it was his portal, Mal and Karen were right behind her. "Thanks for having us everybody!" called Bumblebee with a smile and a wave as she started to back through. "Vic, come visit my lab sometime!"

She vanished next, leaving the Herald. He frowned as he backed through his portal. "Don't, metal-man," he said shortly. "Karen and me don't need anybody else." His portal closed, and the cavern again got darker.

_Cyborg: "Geez, some people. I can't say he's as bad as Plasmus, but it's the same kind of stupid paranoia that causes that stuff. I didn't expect to make any new best friends on Titans East or anything, but that still kinda hurts! Oh well Vic, don't take it personally, the guy'd of treated anybody like that."_

This left only Impulse and Arsenal remaining with the other Teen Titans. "So, will you be riding home with us, Impulse?" asked Starfire to the attention span impaired speedster.

"Sure, why not?" smiled the wild-haired boy, but suddenly an alarm blared on a watch hidden beneath his glove. "Oh no, I'm missing my favorite show!" He jumped into the air and hit the ground running. "Sorryguyscatchyalatergottago!" Bart Allen was gone in a flash, his after-image still lingering even as he finished running across the Atlantic!

"I _will_ need a ride, though," grumbled Roy Harper to Wonder Girl. "Think you can drop me off in DC, though? Looks like I'm not on the Titans East assignment anymore."

Donna smiled. "I bet that's got _you_ relieved."

"Not as much as I thought," replied Arsenal, much to her surprise. "Fighting with you today was kinda fun. It made me remember why I liked this so much back before it all went South. Listen, I meant it when I said we make a good team. We definitely gotta team up again sometime soon—"

"Listen, Roy," interrupted Donna hesitantly. "This has been fun, and you're a great guy, but…I already have a boyfriend."

_Wonder Girl: "And besides Kyle I also have Terry…and that situation is too confusing as it is without adding Roy in there. Still, I'm impressed at how he's matured since I last met him. Maybe, if things had been different, we'd have been good together…"_

Roy smiled and blushed slightly, his cheeks taking the same color as his costume. "What, I talk to a girl and I'm automatically flirting?"

"You're Roy Harper," replied the Amazon with a smile. "Of course you are."

Arsenal laughed. "Got me there. Still…we gotta hang sometime."

"Fine," conceded Donna, though she didn't look like it took much convincing for her to change her mind. "We'll see what happens. It should be fun, though."

Meanwhile, Koriand'r smacked her boyfriend on the arm. "What were you thinking, yelling at Flamebird like that?"

"What?" asked Dick indignantly. "It's not like you even liked her!"

"True, but you were still rude," replied his girlfriend. "On Tamaran, somebody who showed the bravery and good intention that Bette did would be praised!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," mumbled Robin.

_Robin: "But I wasn't really listenin' to what she said—I just didn't wanna fight with her. I was more worried about what Flamebird said, about me not taking my job seriously. Before today I would've laughed at her, but now I'm all confused. Bette screwed things up 'cause she wasn't taking this seriously, cause she acts like this is a game—and even if I don't feel that way, ain't that how I act?_

_"You don't see too many heroes without powers. That makes sense, cause we really gotta be careful—one hit could kill us, while it'd just leave a welt on Kory!__ I guess that explains why Batman's always hiding in the dark and being so joyless—he can't survive any other way! But I've…I've never wanted to be that way. Being dark, being serious, acting like I _give_ a s--, that's not me! But…is that what it's gonna take for me to be a real hero?"_

**BLUE VALLEY GENERAL HOSPITAL, BLUE VALLEY, NE****BRASKA, USA**

"You could've run to any hospital in the _world_," chuckled Frances Kane, the magnetic Titan East-er known as Magenta, "And you bring me _here_. To Blue Valley. That's…sweet, Wally."

Wally West, the avatar of the mythical conduit of all inertia and movement, the Speed Force, stood over her bed, wearing a rare smile. "Considering we grew up here, it seemed appropriate. Besides, these guys are good—they took real good care of me when my appendix went."

Fran chuckled. Her and Wally had known each other since they were kids, long before either of them had super-powers. They'd been childhood sweethearts, and when she again met Wally—now both as Teen Titans—she'd hoped maybe something could be rekindled.

They came _that_ close.

As the laughter died and the silence turned awkward, Speed decided to speak. "Fran, look, you _know_ how much I care about you. I never told you this, but I left the first time because of that crazy magnetic personality of yours. It hurt me to see your powers hurting you and not being able to do anything about it.

"I was _so_ happy to see you back, and to see you be happy! But Fran…I still can't stand to see you hurt yourself like this. I don't think it's smart for you to be Magenta anymore, not unless how we can figure out how to stabilize your polarities. I still want to see you but…I can't if you're like this!"

_Speed: "I mean, why would she keep doing something that hurts her so much? It doesn't make a lot of sense!"_

The magnetic girl just lowered her head. "Wally…don't think I haven't given this a lot of thought. As Magenta, I'm finally doing some good! I can use my powers to help people! These same powers killed my dad and brother, drove my mom crazy, hurt me…and now I'm using them for good. I stopped Girder! I helped defeat Houngan! It's such a great feeling to finally make a difference!"

"But…what about us?!"

Sighing, Fran continued, "When I came here…I was hoping I could change your outlook a bit. Don't think I'm stupid Wally, I know why you left in the first place—and I never said anything about it then cause, well, why bother? You were right, I thought. But feeling as good as I do now, and seeing _you_ now, I decided that I wanted you to see how things had changed. I was…I was hoping you would start to see what happened to you as less of a curse and more as something you can use to help people, like I do!"

_Speed: "What, so everything everybody does to me is some sorta test or something?!"_

The speed specter wasn't happy. "Fran, I…I'm glad you're happy. Really, I am. But…"

"But?" 

"But I can't feel the same way you do, I'm sorry!" Wally West's physical body, made of compressed Speed Force energy, dissolved, reverting him to pure energy, flaring and lighting up the room. "Look at me! My future is gone! I can't convince myself that this is _good_, cause it's not! I'm sorry Fran, but I gotta get outta here!"

And suddenly, as he said, he was gone, just a gold streak moving faster than anybody could even see. Frances Kane sighed, and softly whispered, "I'm sorry too, Wally."

_Speed: "I shouldn't have run out on her like that, but I don't want to get used to being like this! I don't want to give up hope and just try to help everybody else! Why should I have to?! Nobody's ever done anything for me! I've never caught a break! Give me something good and, sure, I'll try to help out, but I can't be happy about this! I just can't!_

_"I'm not selfless, I'm selfish, and I need to be cause nobody else ever looks out for me! I don't even know why I'm _on_ this stupid team anymore."_

**TITANS TOWER—THE BEDROOM HALLWAY**

Victor Stone leaned against the hallway wall, next to the door to Beast Boy's room, where he'd been for forty-five minutes.

_Cyborg: "I didn't know what I should do. Ever since I hurt Gar's feelings by butting in with the Matt stuff I've been trying to steer clear and give him some space. But…he's hurting bad with all this Terra stuff. My heart just keeps screamin' at me to go in and talk to him, but my head's sayin' that its stupid and it'll just make him madder. So, like I said, I dunno what to do…"_

"Vic!" The metal-man was startled back into awareness by Starfire and Robin approaching him. "What are you doing out here?" asked the alien beauty. "Why are you not in there comforting your friend?"

"He doesn't want my help," said Cyborg sadly.

_Starfire: "That is not true. Gar misses Vic as much as Vic misses Gar, he told me so himself before the mission began. Both of them are simply waiting for the other to make the first move. It confuses me, because if they simply spoke their mind this would have already been resolved! Still, since they will not, I will have to take matters into my own hands!"_

"Yes he does," insisted Koriand'r. "He just has not been able to admit it. Come on, he needs your help now more than ever."

"Yeah, and we'll be right here to bail ya' out," added Dick. Though still unsure, Vic got up and knocked softly on the door anyway.

A weak voice replied, "Come in." Vic walked through the door, finding Gar sprawled across his bed, his mind somewhere else entirely.

"Oh, it's you Vic," said Beast Boy, perking up slightly. "What's up?"

_Beast Boy: "Please be here to apologize please be here to apologize please be here to apologize…cause I don't think I can do it myself!"_

"I…" stammered the half-man, half-machine, swallowing the lump in his throat and deciding just to go for it, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for what happened with Matt. I was paranoid and treated you like a kid, and I shouldn't have. You can handle yourself better than I gave you credit for."

"It's all right, man," replied Gar, beaming on the inside. "I kinda flew off the handle there, y'know? You were just trying to help me out…"

However, Vic wasn't done yet. "And I'm sorry too…about Terra. Look, I was the one that told Impulse to go introduce you two. If I had known it was gonna turn out this way I'd never a done it…"

Gar actually smiled. "Dude, don't say that! Sure, I'm sad about what happened with Tara…but I'd be sadder if I never met her!"

_Beast Boy: "Besides, this shows that there are _two_ people that really care about me! And well, even if Tara left, I still feel good remembering how good things were…and I'm glad I found out that not all girls are crazy!"_

Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran couldn't take it anymore. "Oh, I am so happy you are again friends!" she exclaimed as she burst through the door and pulled both of them into a group hug. As she let them go and they caught their breath, however, her tone softened. "But Gar, I am sorry for what happened with Terra. I could see how much you cared for her."

"Thanks Kory," smiled the shapechanger.

"And dude," added Dick, "Remember when Kory and I went on that picnic and I told you we'd do something later? How about tomorrow? Wanna go catch a ballgame or something?"

"Sure thing!" exclaimed Garfield, his eyes wide.

_Beast Boy: "Wow! It's nice how everybody is rooting for me!"_

Spying something small wrapped in tissue paper in Kory's hands, he asked, "Wait, is that for me?"

"Oh, I almost forgot!" exclaimed Starfire as she handed the boy the package. Gar ripped it open, and found that it contained a CD: Ben Folds, 'Rockin' the Suburbs'. "You said you only had one CD, so I thought you should have another of your favorite."

"Did Ben Folds Five break up or something?" he asked, confused as to where the rest of the band was.

"He grew up," she began, "And today, so have you."

Garfield Logan started to tear up. "Thanks, Kory," he said softly. "Do…do you guys mind if I'm alone for a bit?"

"Sure thing," replied Cyborg as the three Titans moved for the door. "If you need anything, just holler."

As they left, Beast Boy put his new album in his CD player and plopped down on his bed as the music started to play.

_Beast Boy: "Boy those guys are great. And so's Tara, for doing what she did for me. But I…it was my fault she left. I'm the one that screwed up and…killed somebody! Not to mention, I just found out I spent years working for a freaking bad guy! My friends make me feel better, but I guess I'm not gonna be all right for a long time. But I can't let them know how bad I feel…not when they're trying so hard to make things right…_

_"This sure isn't easy. I mean what I said to Vic: I'm glad I met Tara, despite it all. But still…things are a lot harder now. I guess, like Kory said, this is part of growing up. I…I don't think I like growing up."_

As Gar thought, suspiciously appropriate lyrics from his new giftflew through his ears:

"_Everybody knows_

_It hurts to grow up_

_But everybody does_

_It's so weird to be back here_

_Let me tell you what_

_The years go on and_

_We're still fighting it_

_We're still fighting it"_

_Beast Boy: "Sing it, Ben Folds, sing it…"_

**OFF THE AIR—NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA**

Bette Kane hurried down a bustling New York street. Having given up being Flamebird and having dissolved her team of Titans, she had returned to her street clothes, the most expensive in name-brand fashion, sunglasses perched atop her head. Every man over ten and under seventy looked her way—however, her mind was still back in Zandia.

_'Maybe that was the wrong thing to do, Bette,'_ she thought to herself. _'I was so hurt 'cause of Dick saying that mean stuff that I didn't act right, but I'd never normally back down from a challenge! That had to be what it was! I'll show Dick that I can be a great hero! Besides, it was fun! And everybody knew who I was! I was finally doing something worthwhole!_

_Forget it, Dick! Flamebird's back to stay!'_

And suddenly a very different voice was in Bette's head. _'I'm glad you feel that way, Bette. Your services, as well as those of Titans East are still needed.'_

"Who…who are you?!" gasped Bette out loud, pumping her fists in preparation to fight the unseen opponent.

The air in front of the heiress rippled, and out of nowhere appeared a floating red and black cloak, so large that no form could be seen inside, and only darkness was within its hood—it simply appeared as an animate cloak, billowing in the wind as if possessed! The voice Bette had heard in her head emanated from within.

"I am Omen," stated the voice, "And you and your friends may just help me save the world…"

Next time: Mobbed!

DISCLAIMER 2: "Still Fighting It" by Ben Folds was written and performed by Ben Folds, and all right belong to him.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it guys! Let me know what you think, and I promise I'm going to slow down and lighten up for the next arc (But I can't promise that for the arc that follows!) Thanks for reading!


	14. Mobbed

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. It is with great respect that I use their characters and ideas, as well as the inspiration of all the other Titans writers. I don't have space to list all those talented individual's names, but maybe they'll show up in here somewhere, say, as places? ;)

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 14: Mobbed!**

**ROLE CALL:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

**ON THE AIR—BAY BRIDGE BANK, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA**

By now the Teen Titans—a reality TV super-hero team assembled by the enigmatic Mr. Loren Jupiter—had been operating out of San Francisco for a month. It would seem obvious that the city's criminal element would have realized doing anything with them around was futile—but then again, look at cities like Gotham, Metropolis, or Keystone, which are still regularly plagued by common crooks even after Batman, Superman, and the Flash have operated there for years!

So then, it came as no surprise when the silent alarm sounded in police headquarters, alerting the boys in blue that the Bay Bridge Bank was being held up. Yup, no surprise, just amazement of the stupidity guys like these could have. With the press of one button on the police chief's desk, the Titans were alerted and already on their way!

Several black-clad robbers dashed from the bank's entrance, their hands loaded with sacks of money and guns, heading towards a car filled with several of their cronies. However, the vehicle was suddenly torn to shreds, shattered by a ghostly black force as a blur of yellow energy streaked through, taking with it all the money and weapons!

Speed, the avatar of the mythical Speed Force, stood next to a pile of the stolen goods, smirking. "Go ahead," he taunted, "Try to take them back."

_Speed: "Not that bullets could hurt me anyway, but I'd just steal the speed from the gun so they couldn't even pull the trigger! Heh, that'd be pretty funny."_

Before the shocked thieves could even begin to catch their breath, they were down for the count. Several were snatched up in the golden cords of Wonder Girl's magic lasso. A green gorilla scattered a couple of them with its massive arm, while blue and green shots of Cyborg's Sonic Cannon and Starfire's Starbolts caught some stragglers. A bolo whirled out of nowhere and tied two thieves together, while the final was downed as Robin landed on his back, wrapping his legs around the robber's neck.

"I'm sorry, but it looks like your robbery is an epic fail!" laughed Dick as he punched his hostage in the face. "Good night!"

And less than five minutes after the robbers first entered the bank, they were all out cold and in handcuffs. The seven Teen Titans admired their work as the cops dragged the bodies into the back of a prison truck.

"Man, these battles're too easy," complained Robin, who was leaning against his alien girlfriend with his arm around her shoulders. "When are we gonna fight somebody tough again, like the Brotherhood?"

_Robin: "Then I'll have a chance to really get down and dirty."_

_Beast Boy: "Hopefully, never."_

"Don't think little battles like this don't help, Robin," chastised Donna Troy, floating above her teammates with her arms crossed. "Everybody's learning that they're not going to get away with crime while we're around!"

"And you guys call _me_ corny," mumbled Gar under his breath. Nobody really heard him, though, as the Titans all seemed distracted, ready to depart and take care of their previous plans.

"So Dick!" exclaimed Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran, "Are you ready to go shopping with me now?! I have much need of your opinions on the clothing I intend to buy!"

_Robin: "Wow, girls're the same on every planet! Waste of time, though. She's best with no clothes at all!"_

The acrobat extraordinaire looked nervous. "Well, actually," he stammered, "I'm supposed to take the little Robin into the city today for some on-site acrobatics training, and, well, it's hard enough to get the little guy to come out during the day to begin with, y'know?" His alien girlfriend's expression started as quizzical and moved to disappointed.

_Starfire: "Ever since he and Flamebird had that fight Dick has seemed a little…different. He has been spending so _much_ time with the other Robin, and I am not quite sure why the change. I wish he would just tell me what was on his mind, for once!"_

However, as Starfire stared into her boyfriend's pouting face, her mood softened.

_Starfire: "Of course, Donna did say Dick would not find the prospect of shopping interesting when she suggested it. Perhaps I should let it slide, this time."_

"Of course I understand, Dick," finally replied Kory, who now floated to another friend's side. "How about you, Donna? You were the one who suggested I find a more…modest downtime wardrobe, so perhaps you would enjoy accompanying me to help show me what you mean?"

_Wonder Girl: "I'm not sure if that sounds fun or _frustrating…_probably a little of both. I like Kory a lot, but today I have plans with Terry, and he's starting to grow on me more and more! At first I dismissed him because he wasn't anything like Kyle, but actually, that's kind of what I find endearing about him!"_

"I'd love to, Kory, but…I have a couple of other things I've gotta take care of first. Sorry."

"Oh," sighed Kory. Still, she was sad for only a second, before an even _better_ idea popped into her head! "Raven!" she exclaimed, taking off like a rocket and colliding with the dark empath.

Her cloak billowed into the air. "Starfire, what do you—"

"You are going shopping with me!" declared Koriand'r jubilantly, much to the surprise of pretty much _everybody _there. "I told you we would have to 'hang-out' before we fought the Brotherhood, and now is that time!"

_Speed: "Ha! Raven would never do that!"_

_Raven: "I would never do that, normally. But as I have stated before, Starfire is just so…innocent and genuine. That is so rare that I do not want to discourage it…and were I to try to dissuade her, it would more than likely have no effect. I could use my emotion manipulation abilities to change her mind, I suppose, but she does not _deserve _that…"_

"Fine," acquiesced Raven with a deep sigh. "I shall go with you."

_Speed: "What?! I could never get her to do that!"_

"Hooray!" Starfire hugged her newfound friend and soared off.

"Well," chuckled Beast Boy, "I guess that just leaves us! What're the plans for today, ol' Vic ol' buddy ol' pal?"

Cyborg stared down as his green friend. "Gar, you _know_ I have a date with Sarah today. We've been through this!"

"I know," lamented Garfield Logan, "But without you, I'm just gonna be left alone at the tower with…_him._" The shapeshifter gestured towards Wally, who was standing off to the side, his body sparking, lost within his own thoughts.

_Speed: "Ugh, alone again. The only one of 'em who would _maybe_ take me along is Kory, but one, I don't want to go shopping anyway, and two, no way am I going if _Raven's_ there. I thought I loved her, hell, maybe I _still_ feel that way, but she's been treating me like dirt, and I'm tired of it! If I can give up a girl as good to me as Fran for my own sanity, I can certainly do it for a witch like Raven!"_

"I'll be back at the Tower I guess, guys." When Wally finally spoke his words were soft, and as soon as they left his mouth he was gone in a flash, back in the tower almost before he left.

Gar was ready to give Vic the "sad-kitten" face. "C'mon Vic, you can't leave me alone with him!"

_Cyborg: "Can't I? Dammit, no I can't. He's putting on a good act, but Gar's still hurting bad. I can't leave him alone after we just patched up like this. I just hope Sarah understands."_

"Okay, okay," smiled Cyborg, "Ya got me. Let's go."

"Al_right!_"

**ROBIN AND ROBIN—SAN FRANCISCO ROOFTOPS**

"Backwards somersault!"

Dick Grayson, former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire, and the Teen Titan known as Robin, watched as his student, a smaller boy who also called himself Robin, tucked his legs and let his body roll backwards before landing on a rooftop.

"Sweet landing," smiled Dick as he gave the boy a thumbs-up. "Been practicing?"

"As much as I can," replied the younger boy, "Considering I still have to patrol with Batman and go to school, it's not like I have all the time in the world."

The Titan smirked. "Oh yeah, school. Sucks to be you."

_Robin: "Growing up in the circus, I didn't ever hafta go to school. I had some tutors and stuff, but at the same time, the circus is its own type of education all on its own. I learned stuff from all over the world. Maybe it ain't the three R's or anything, but I think it's even more important to learn about everything all around us. From what the little Robin's shown me of detective work even, the more obscure some fact is, the more important it is!_

_"But as much as I loved seein' the sights back with Haley's Circus, I had to leave. It was, like, the only way I could ever grow up, y'know? Maybe my parents weren't there anymore, but everybody there still mothered me. I love 'em all, but I needed to become my own person. I became _Robin_._

_"Which is kinda funny, considerin' there's another one now."_

"So why Robin?" asked Dick. "Of all the names in the world, why imitate mine?"

His young imitator shrugged. "I told you, I'm a fan. I like that you're just a self-made man, that you do this to protect other people and stop bad guys and just keep training to get better all on your own."

The older one wasn't convinced. Crossing his arms, he asked, "And so's Batman—and you work for the guy, but you ain't take _his_ name."

Smirking, the tiny detective replied, "Batboy sounds stupid."

_Robin: "Fine, be evasive like that. Stupid Batman teaching the kid stupid stuff…though, I guess that's better for 'im than bein' like Flamebird…"_

"Fine," chuckled Dick as he pointed towards the edge of the roof. "Land like you're bein' attacked and you gotta attack and evade at the same time!"

In a red, green and black dash the younger Robin was off, leaping over the rooftop and landing on the building below. He sprang onto his hands, then somersaulted and launched a handful of Batarangs.

Dick whistled as he descended. "Not bad, not bad. Looks like you've used that one before."

"I have," smiled his 'student' as he collected his used weapons. "Sent the Joker's stooges flying!"

"Man, you don't need acrobat lessons anymore," said the older boy, slightly annoyed. "You're probably out doin' this more than me—you _never_ needed this."

Shrugging, the younger Robin ventured, "Well I got a lot better a lot faster with your help—but yeah, you figured it out right off the bat man. This is just as much for you as it is for me." He smirked as he pulled out his binoculars. "Detective lessons?"

Grunting, Dick crossed his arms and asked, "And why's your boss so interested in me? He already has you and kinky ninja girl and whoever he's always talkin' to on his ear-thingy…"

"He has his reasons," alluded the young boy as he adjusted his binoculars and scanned the streets below them. "We're going to do a little exercise here. Just give me a sec to scope everything out."

_Robin: "Y'know, the little guy's really fun when he's not tryin' to pull stuff over on me. It's a good thing I actually _wanna_ be a good detective."_

Still ignoring the kid's lines about the lessons, Dick just kept on fishing. "C'mon, do you agree with all this cloak an' dagger stuff? Bein' all dark and mysterious? Y'think it's how a hero should be?"

_Robin: "I didn't used to think so, but then after all the s--with Flamebird, I dunno anymore. It's been driving me nuts, thinking that maybe I'm being too…I dunno, cheerful for this job. Jerkish or not, maybe Batman and the kid have the right idea."_

"I think it protects Batman, Batgirl and I," answered the boy. "We can't do the amazing things your friends do. If we get shot, we die. We can't make a lot of noise, we can't take unnecessary risks, and we can't let our egos get in our way."

Dick's eyes grew wide. Still, his student/teacher wasn't done. "Of course, you're in a different boat. You work with gods every day. Even Batman can act a little different when he's with the JLA."

_Robin: "True, but…I dunno, I might be more useful to the Titans if I change. I mean, even if I stalled Deathstroke long enough, they still had to save my ass from him. Maybe if I'd been more serious…maybe more people'd take _me_ seriously."_

The smaller Robin's eyes grew large, and now even he lost his train of thought. "Woah, Dick, you've gotta take a look at this!" He handed the binoculars to his older friend and pointed to a restaurant a street over.

"Is that Donna?" asked Dick, and as he noticed more his smile turned into a smirk. "But who's she with? That's definitely _not_ Kyle! Holy f--ing s--!"

**WONDER GIRL AND TERRY LONG—CARDY CAFÉ**

"So Zeus _gave_ you your lasso?!" Wide-eyed, the gopher and aspiring historian Terry Long marveled at the prospect of meeting a Greek God. Across the table sat Donna Troy, his kinda-sorta date and the super-hero known as Wonder Girl. She was even less certain than he was of this meeting's romantic status.

_Wonder Girl: "Why did I meet with Terry again? Well, I've been talking with him nearly every night since the first date. Sure he's a bit of a doofus at times, but he's really a wonderful person. He really cares about _me_ as a person. I love Kyle, and I know he cares about me too, but sometimes I think I'm more of an _accessory_ to him._

_"So do I like Terry? Yeah, I guess I do. I like him a lot. But that just raises the question…what am I going to do about it? Or, Hera, about Kyle?!"_

Choosing to focus instead on her conversation for the moment, the adopted Amazon continued, "Yeah, He gave it to me when I decided to venture to Man's World." She smiled as she reminisced. "Queen Hippolyta and Diana had to take me before Zeus and the rest of the Greek Pantheon to ask permission, just as they did when they gave me Amazonian powers."

"You sound like you loved Themyscara a lot," asked Terry. "Why did you leave?"

"Diana found me in a burning building in New York as a toddler," answered the girl wonder, this time her memories much more painful. "It was one of her first journeys to this world, years before she moved here permanently as the Themyscaran ambassador, so she wasn't sure what to do with me."

"No orphanages on Themyscara?" Terry winked.

"No _children_ there. Diana was the first, I was the second. To make me truly their sister, the Amazons were allowed to bestow to me some of their power, and I loved growing up there. But…despite it all, I'm _human_. Someday I'll grow old and die, and none of the Amazons ever will. This is the world I came from, and I wanted to learn more about it.

"I wanted to learn who Donna Troy _really_ was."

"So…how's that going?"

"Not that well," she answered with a sigh. "I'm no closer to finding out who my parents were than when I started. And, I know, maybe it doesn't mean anything. The Amazons raised me—_they're_ my family. Nothing's going to change that. But somehow, I just don't feel like I can really be complete if I don't know who I am and where I came from, you know?"

Terry Long chuckled. "Not really, but I can guess."

_Wonder Girl: "Wow, guess I really did pour my heart out there, didn't I? Funny, I don't know if I've ever told Kyle _half_ of that."_

Donna blushed. "Yeah, I guess in comparison, your life's pretty boring, huh?"

Her date didn't seem offended. "Yeah, just your typical spoiled rich kid I guess," he said with a smile and a laugh. "Though that time I tried to break into my neighbor's house cause I'd just watched James Bond and wanted to be a spy was pretty exciting!"

As he sat there chuckling, his date grabbed his collared shirt and pulled him across the table, kissing him passionately. Disheveled as he fell back into his seat, Terry didn't have much in reply but a fairly confused—but not upset by any means—"What was that for?!"

"For being such a great guy," smiled Donna.

"Holy f--ing s-- Donna!" exclaimed Dick Grayson as he and his young counterpart fell from the sky besides the two lovebirds. "Does Kyle know about this?!

Smiling meekly and giving a small wave, the smaller Robin simply greeted them by saying, "Hey." Terry seemed amused by the boys' entrance, but Wonder Girl was nearly foaming at the mouth.

_Wonder Girl: "NO! I didn't want any of the other Titans finding out about this, but if any of them had to, _why_ did it have to be _Dick_?!"_

"No," she growled, "Kyle does _not_ know about this, and _I_ will be the one to tell him, _not_ you! You are not to tell _anybody!_"

_Robin: "Woah, I knew she'd be sensitive if I poked fun at her, but I didn't think she'd blow a gasket like this!"_

"Jeez!" exclaimed Dick defensively as he put up his hands. "Okay, I won't!" Turning to Terry, he laughed. "S--, I guess you really _are_ her new boyfriend!"

The redhead smirked and shrugged. "You know about as much as I do."

Again Donna became aggressive. "My relationship with Terry is my own business! You don't see me going around asking you about your personal life, do you?"

"Yeah, I don't," sighed Dick, disappointed. "Y'know, that's too bad, cause there's this thing me an' Kory did last night I thought you'd _love_ to he—"

"Nobody wants to hear about your personal life!" countered Donna in a rage.

_Wonder Girl: "I can't stand it when he screws with me like that!"_

_Robin: "I love f--ing with her like that. But still, I think the fact that pretty much every tabloid there is was callin' me wanting to know 'bout Kory and me means that a lot of people care 'bout my personal life!"_

"Look, its Robin!" Suddenly a chorus of new voices entered the fray, and the four teenagers found themselves surrounded by a mob of fans, most of them in their late teens or early twenties, all clamoring for a piece of the Titans and their friends!

"Boy, isn't he just _so_ hot?!"

"And hey, isn't that Wonder Girl?!"

The heroes and their friends winced. "Dick, they can't find out about Terry!"

"But you're on TV," offered the younger Robin, receiving only a death-glare from the girl.

"And by the time Terry gets on the air, everything should be taken care of," explained Wonder Girl. "In the meantime, I can't—"

"Re_lax_ Donna," offered Dick casually as he pulled a pen from his utility belt and started to stroll towards the mob. "I'll sign a few autographs and we'll get the hell outta—"

The acrobat couldn't even finish his sentence as the crowd squealed. "He's coming over here!" they cried as they rushed forward, groping and pushing and very nearly trampling innocent passerbys as they dashed for their idols.

"Yeah, that went _so_ well," complained Donna as she turned to her date. "Well, looks like we still haven't gotten through a full date. Call me?"

"You bet," smiled Terry. This time he initiated a kiss before the girl wonder took to the sky.

The sound of a grappling launcher filled the air, and Dick Grayson saw his small friend already taking to the rooftops. "You better get up here if you don't want to get squashed!" called the boy.

"Yeah," grumbled the older Robin as he followed, landing besides the other. "Jeez, I know everybody loves me, but that was crazy!"

"Yeah, that was pretty unusual," mused the Batman's partner as he started down at the disappointed crowd. "Something's not right with that mob…"

_Robin: "Ooh, the kid's got _some_ sort of good idea brewing up in there. This should be interestin'!"_

**CYBORG, BEAST BOY AND SARAH SIMMS—JIMENEZ PARK**

Jimenez Park was a peaceful respite from the grind of everyday life in San Francisco. That grind can even get to super-heroes—which was why, on this particular day, several of the Teen Titans could be found enjoying a picnic lunch on the park's grounds.

The animal shapeshifter known as Beast Boy skittered around the checkered blanket like he'd had sugar infused into his veins, much to the amusement of Sarah Simms, a local student. Sarah's boyfriend, the half-man half-machine Cyborg, wasn't quite as comfortable.

_Cyborg: "Y'know, by now I'm getting pretty used to my mechanical body, but there're still some times it's kinda awkward. Like right now, sitting on a blanket on the ground?—I'm definitely not built for that!"_

"Man, all food tastes better when you're eatin' it on the ground!" exclaimed Garfield Logan as he poured some soda into a bowl and began lapping it up as a kitten. Sarah chuckled.

_Beast Boy: "Boy it feels good to make somebody laugh! Kinda helps me forget all the bad things that've happened, even if just for a little bit…"_

"Quit showin' off, Gar," chuckled Victor Stone as he reached into the picnic basket and pulled out a Frisbee. "Go get it!" he called as he tossed the disk, causing his friend to run off in pursuit—as a Labrador retriever, of course!

_Cyborg: "Yeah, a picnic basket and blanket and all this stuff, it's a little corny, I know. But Sarah ate the idea of a picnic up! Actually, I got Dick to thank for all this. He already had all this gear an' everything!"_

"It's a good thing he's funny, Vic," said Sarah with a smile, "Cause it's the only thing holding me back! Why would you bring him on our date?"

The flesh side of Cyborg's head started to blush. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that," he stammered. "It's just, he's been through a _real_ rough patch lately."

"Exactly how rough are we talking about here?" asked the blonde girl, her arms crossed, not totally convinced Gar's tough luck warranted adding a third wheel to their date.

Vic sighed. "Real tough. The kid just had his first crush, well, _crushed _when she murdered their enemy!" Sarah's eyes opened wide in shock. She didn't realize it was _that_ bad! "Plus," continued the metal man, "He found out that the leader of the superhero team that raised him—who all got murdered too, mind you—was manipulatin' them all the entire time! Turns out he didn't even let Gar go to school, so he can barely read much more'n like, his cell phone or something!"

Sarah Simms looked mortified. "Wow. Maybe being a superhero isn't as glamorous as it seems."

"Not always, yeah," said Vic, shrugging. "So, y'know, I've been tryin' to cheer him up as much as I can. Gar hides it well, but he's still hurtin' pretty bad! So that's why he's here today."

If Sarah was still angry the shapeshifter had come, she certainly wasn't showing it. "You're a good man, Victor Stone," she said as she started to crawl onto his lap. Her face in his, she continued, "And in my book, nice guys _don't_ finish last."

_Cyborg: "Definitely not!"_

Suddenly a green Labrador was on Vic's back, knocking him onto his face—Sarah barely leapt out of the way in time! A drool covered Frisbee fell to the ground as Beast Boy resumed his human form and said, "C'mon Vic, no fair! Y'know I can't resist a Frisbee!"

_Beast Boy: "No matter which form I'm in, a lab's reaction to a Frisbee shines through loud n' clear!"_

"Must've slipped my mind," said Victor with a chuckle as he flipped open the picnic basket. "Who's ready to _eat_?!"

"Always am!" replied Gar as he pulled a Tupperware container from the basket. "Enough Tofu picnic'd goods to gorge a small army!"

"They'd turn it down," dismissed Sarah as she unzipped her tiny cooler and pulled out something that made Cyborg's mouth water: "Vic, how about some homemade fried chicken?! My mother's recipe!"

The mechanical man swiped a piece and took a bite—his mouth nearly melted. "G—damn this is the best chicken I've ever had."

Gar frowned and turned into a green chicken, leaping between the two lovebirds and letting out a shrieking cry. He landed on his back, faking dead, and returned to his human form, his hands around his neck like he was strangling himself. "I'm dyin', I'm dyin'!" he cried.

Sarah rolled her eyes and grabbed the Frisbee, letting the lightweight disk soar away once again. "Fetch," she grunted, and grumbling, Beast Boy took off after it. Chuckling, the girl turned to Vic. "I have to deal with the vegan stuff enough from my brother without hearing it from Gar too."

"Well, he _has_ been all those animals before," said Victor with a shrug. "Can't blame 'im."

"Enough about the green kid," smiled Sarah. "This date is about _us_. So, pick up where we left off?"

"Sure thing," replied Cyborg, grinning like a schoolboy with a crush. "And I believe last time we talked, you told me 'bout all your plans, 'bout wanting to be a Special Ed teacher, or maybe a physical therapist."

_Cyborg: "She wants to spend her life helping people as much as I do. Ain't she great?"_

She was impressed at his memory. "So how about you, metal man? What's on your plate after the Titans are over?"

"Well, I'm hopin' we'll be popular enough for MTV to keep us together, but if not, I think I'll try to keep some of the others around and make a group of my own. I like this, having a life spent helping people. I want to do it as long as I can." Grinning, he continued, "And of course, I'll be stickin' around 'Frisco as long as you do."

"All right, you guys aren't gettin' rid of me that easy again!" exclaimed Garfield as he landed in the middle of the blanket with a thud. "I got self control!"

"Okay then," shrugged Sarah. "So, what about you, kid? What you got planned to do once you're done filming the Titans?"

All the color flushed out of Gar's face. "I…dunno."

_Beast Boy: "I really just don't wanna think about that. I…I could lose another family all over again."_

His two friends could both see how much that hit him. Sarah chewed on her lip for a second before speaking up with her idea. "Gar, I heard you haven't had the most schooling." The changeling's eyes grew wide and he looked offended, but the blonde spitfire wasn't done yet. "Would you like me to tutor you some? I really think it could help you out, and it'd be fun!"

A smile slowly crawled across Garfield Logan's face. "That'd…that'd be great!"

_Beast Boy: "Man I wish Vic hadn't gotten to her first! She's awesome!"_

Over his tiny friend's shoulder, Cyborg gave his girlfriend a look that said more than words could. Their eyes met, and she knew exactly what he meant: _"You're a good woman, Sarah Simms."_

"Look, its Cyborg!"

Suddenly the three teenagers found themselves surrounded by a rapidly growing crowd of nearly rabid fans, made up of many of the same kids as the one that had approached Robin and Wonder Girl!

"Dude, we have fans!" exclaimed Beast Boy, flattered. "Sweet!"

However, as the crowd encircled them and started to grow closer, they could see how serious it actually was. "And that must be Cyborg's girlfriend!"

"_I'd_ be a much better girlfriend for him!" cried one fan as she picked up a stone.

"In your dreams, sister," snarled Sarah, but by then Vic had already erected an energy shield around them.

Frowning, he said, "No Gar, _not_ so sweet. These guys' adrenaline levels are off the chart! Something's got 'em aggravated—they ain't the friendly kinda fans!" Sighing, he turned to Sarah. "Looks like the date's called off early. How about a tour of the tower instead?"

"Sounds great," smiled Sarah, who'd already packed all their stuff into the picnic basket. "I was full anyway."

"Then you guys go ahead," strained Vic, taxed by keeping the shield up. "I'll be right behind ya!"

"You got it, buddy!" exclaimed Gar as he leapt onto Sarah's back. "Thank you for riding air Beast Boy! Please keep all arms and legs inside the ride at all times, until the changeling has come to a complete stop!"

A hole opened in the roof of the shield, and Beast Boy grew into a pterodactyl, carrying them both through and towards the tower. Vic's electronic eye flashed several times as he got on one knee, the neon blue mechanics in his legs glowing.

_Cyborg: "Something's really wrong with all these kids. I know our show is popular, but this is just…off. That's why I took some pictures of these guys—hopefully Jupiter or me can figure out what's goin' on here…"_

The half-machine's shield disappeared, and as the frantic crowd closed in on him, Cyborg took to the air, leaping with the full power of his mechanical legs plus a boost from the thrusters in his feet. He quickly overtook Gar and Sarah, soaring towards the Tower at breakneck speeds.

_Cyborg: "But still, I _had_ to invite Sarah back. No matter what's up here, I ain't lettin' it interrupt my date!"_

**STARFIRE AND RAVEN—DEVIN'S DEPARTMENT STORE**

"What do you think of this, Raven?" Princess Koriand'r of the planet Tamaran—a.k.a. Starfire, the Teen Titans' alien powerhouse—held out a lime green sundress for her reluctant companion to inspect. The mysterious empath Raven, hidden, as always, behind her cloak, raised an eyebrow hesitantly.

"I am sure it is lovely, Starfire, but perhaps you should hold this off until Wonder Girl is available. I do not really have knowledge of clothing."

_Starfire: "Oh Raven. This was not about the clothes! True, Donna recommended that I enlarge my wardrobe some because of Earth's prudishness—though she did not phrase it _quite_ that way—but I mostly just wanted to spend the day with someone close to me! Dick and Donna could not come, so I decided I needed to help Raven open up a little. She is so shy and reserved, and she will never make friends that way!"_

"That is fine, Raven," dismissed Kory. "There are plenty of others who know about clothes!" The Tamaranian pulled aside a mother pushing a baby in a shopping cart. "Excuse me ma'am, what do you think of this dress?"

Half expecting she was on Candid Camera, the woman nervously replied, "I think it's lovely. You have good taste."

"Nah way, don't listen to 'er, babe!" Suddenly Koriand'r found a teenage guy in a leather jacket and a bandanna hanging off her shoulder. "That's _way_ too uptight for ya! I think _this's_ much better on ya!" Reaching into the next aisle, he pulled out a skimpy black negligee.

Kory's eyes shot open wide. "That was not exactly what I was looking for…"

_Starfire: "Not that showing that much skin bothers me, but I do not see the purpose of those clothes! It provides no protection, but if it was meant to seduce, would not wearing no clothes at all be more effective?!"_

Suddenly both shoppers were swept up in the black folds of Raven's cloak, and when they emerged, they both walked in opposite directions with blank expressions on their faces.

_Raven: "Starfire is practically innocence personified, despite the tortures she has endured in her life. Such a joyful, malice-free disposition is practically unheard of on Earth, so I do not appreciate seeing anyone fool with her emotions!"_

"What was that for?!" asked the alien, still left without a decisive opinion on her outfit.

"They were not being honest with you, Starfire," countered the empath. "The woman was trying to hide her feelings because she thought herself on television—truthfully, I could sense she was quite disturbed by our odd appearance. And the boy was only interested in sleeping with you."

Kory looked doubtful. "You are not giving them the benefit of the doubt, Raven!"

"I do not need to," replied Raven solemnly. "I am an empath, remember? I can already sense mankind's emotions, so I have _no_ doubts as to their intentions." The cloaked girl lowered her head. "The selfishness, anger and hatred far outweigh what purity I have found."

_Raven: "Indeed, the entire foundation of every civilization on Earth has been corrupted by the darkness in human hearts!"_

_Starfire: "I cannot accept that! Empath or not, Raven must be simply overlooking the good! Why would she want to be so…cynical?!"_

"You are wrong!" exclaimed Koriand'r. "There is good in everybody, and if you cannot see that then your life is going to be very lonely!"

_Raven: "It already is. That…rarely bothers me."_

"I can see good acts and qualities," admitted the dark Titan. "Sadly, the selfish and bad qualities almost always outweigh them."

Strangely enough, Starfire was smiling! "You said almost!" exclaimed the bronze-skinned beauty. "That means you _have_ met some good people! Who?!"

Somehow, Raven managed to withdraw even deeper into her encompassing cloak. "You."

Kory was stunned. "Me?!"

"Yes, you," insisted the empath. "Starfire, nobody else on Earth is as pure as you."

"I am flattered, but there _has_ to be somebody who is," insisted the alien. "And please, call me Kory!"

"I am sorry to surprise you with this," continued Raven, "In fact, you essentially coerced it out of me. I do not _want_ to be withdrawn constantly, but I cannot endure drawing close to those whose emotions harm me."

"Then why are _we_ not friends?"

"I…do not know."

Kory released a squeal of delight and drug her friend into the air as she squeezed her tight—attracting the attention of most of the store. "Then there is no reason for us _not_ to be friends!" she exclaimed joyously.

_Raven: "Except maybe all the hugging."_

"There is _so_ much we can talk about now! Tell me friend, where do you come from?!"

_Raven: "I have always felt information like this too personal to share, but if she is to be my friend…perhaps I should rethink that idea."_

"I was born in an interdimensional haven known as Azarath," answered Raven, speaking slowly with some trepidation. It wasn't just that she was nervous. It was like she was looking for just the right words—or just the right mix or truths and lies. "The monks that inhabited Azarath sensed the amazing potential within me—both for _good_ and for _destruction._ They brought my mother to Azarath and raised me, teaching me to suppress my emotions and thus control my dangerous abilities.

"From Azarath I was able to observe Earth, and I saw the terrible acts mankind was capable of. I knew those evil men could not go unpunished, and that those atrocities could not be permitted to continue. That is why I came to Earth and joined the Titans."

"Wow, Raven," marveled Koriand'r, "What an amazing story!" Grinning so widely that the smile nearly took over her face, she asked, "See, now was that so hard?"

"Yes," glared her empathic friend.

_Raven: "Still, it did feel somewhat good to be able to open up to someone. I think I might…_enjoy_ having a friend."_

_Starfire: "Nothing makes me happier than making a new friend! What a joyous day this is!"_

"Look!" cried an unfamiliar voice. "It's the Teen Titans!" Both Titans looked up to find themselves surrounded by a ring of frenzied fans!

"Wow! Starfire's just as hot in real life as she is on TV!"

"Isn't Raven's cape cool?!"

Kory was overjoyed to have fans. "Let's go say hi, Raven!"

"No, Starfire!" exclaimed her dark friend. "They are too dangerous!"

"Call me_ Kory_," again insisted the alien, "And you are again not giving them the benefit of the doubt! They—"

"Their emotions have been heightened to near frenzy!" Indeed, as soon as the statement left the empath's mouth, the mob rushed forward. Raven's cloak leapt out and enveloped them in pure black. "I should be able to sooth their emotion—"

Suddenly Raven was thrown backwards still in mid-sentence, and the mob continued on unabated. "What do we do now?" asked Starfire as she caught her teammate. "Fight them?"

"No," insisted Raven as the darkness spread from her and surrounded Kory as well. "We will simply take our leave."

Instantaneously, both girls were back in the tower! "That was…disorienting," groaned Koriand'r as she picked herself up from where she found herself on the floor.

"Yes, I apologize for that," said Raven, though she seemed distracted. "That crowed…I could not manipulate their emotions! Something is terribly wrong! I have to look into this further!" Looking up, she made eye contact with her new friend. "Still, thank you for taking me with you today, Koriand'r. I actually…enjoyed myself."

A smile filled the princess's face. "No problem, Raven."

_Starfire: "She called me Koriand'r! That is a good sign!"_

**SPEED—TITANS TOWER, LIVING ROOM**

Wally West was a typical Midwestern boy who lost his body in a freak accident, and found himself instead composed of pure energy from the mythical source of all momentum, the Speed Force. He wasn't very happy about this. Today he was _unusually_ unhappy—even for _him_—as she dashed throughout the Tower looking for _something_ to do.

_Speed: "Left all alone, _again_. I don't know why I stick around here. Did you see how freaked Gar got when he thought he'd have to be here with me? Eh, what does it matter? They're all just jerks anyway—_especially_ Raven, that b--._

_"Heh, what does that say about me? Raven's a b-- and I still love her anyway!"_

Zooming past the couch, Speed picked up the remote and started flipping through channels faster than it could keep up with.

_Speed: "I dunno what the point of _that_ was. There's never anything good on TV anymore! I used to look for cool places I could run to, but that was more pointless than anything! What's the point of bein' in those amazing places without somebody to share it with, or without bein' able to feel the breeze or swim in the water or taste the food? God, living's so pointless anymore!"_

The top-of-the-line television set kept up with Wally's relentless channel surfing the best it could, cycling through stations faster than any normal person could even begin to comprehend—yet, for Speed and his quickened perceptions, even _that_ was too slow.

_Speed: "Honestly, by that point I was just hoping I could bore myself to death. Nothing else could do me in now!"_

Suddenly, just as the monotony actually _was_ starting to become lethal, something caught Wally's eye: a newscast with the logo for _"The Real World: Titans Tower"_ displayed in its little newsbox. The speed specter tossed aside the remote and fell onto the couch butt-first, intrigued.

_Speed: "I always like seeing what the media has to say about this stupid show. Apparently we're, like, MTV's highest rated show, so of course there's a bunch of people that hate us just cause we're on MTV, but then there's the guys that think we're, like, cheapening the way that society looks at heroes or something. Heh, like we're worse than any of the rest of 'em."_

"This is Linda Park reporting for Channel 4 news," announced the anchor, a beautiful Asian woman who looked to be in her early twenties. "This afternoon our top story deals with several incidents of rioting that occurred across the city today. Mobs were seen forming in the middle of downtown as well as in Jimenez Park, and were unusual because they dispersed nearly as soon as they began. In fact, the police have so far been unable to make any arrests.

"The one element tying these incidents together appears to be the Teen Titans, San Francisco's local superhero team and the stars of a top-rated reality TV show. Several eye-witnesses reported seeing members of the Titans fleeing from the scene of the mobs."

Wally furrowed his brow as the reporter continued. "Despite the show's growing popularity across the nation, response to the Titans' presence here in San Francisco has been mixed. We now go live to Ollie Williams from Jimenez Park."

"Thank you, Linda," said Ollie, a large black man in a suit that was just as tad too snug for him. Standing beside him was a woman in her early fifties. "With the Teen Titans seemingly having some part in the riots that have occurred today, we've decided to poll the citizens of our fair city and find out just exactly what they think—"

"They're menaces!" exclaimed the woman, unable to contain her rage. "We _never_ had super-villain attacks here until those kids showed up!"

_Speed: "She's got a point there. Dr. Light, Deathstroke, Blackfire, they all just came after us!"_

"You're not being fair," argued a man in his thirties standing next to the lady. "Despite the damage done, there were zero casualties during the Deathstroke incident, and crime's dropped _thirty_ percent since the Titans formed!"

"The Titans are so cool!" exclaimed one of two little boys standing in the line, no more than eight or nine.

"My favorite's Speed!" declared the other boy, much to both Wally's shock and dismay. "I love how he can run around and freeze people in place an' stuff! I wanna be just like him when I grow up!"

"No you don't, kid," said Wally, who had transversed the space between Titans Tower and the park in a second. Ollie Williams and his interviewees were shocked, but the Titan didn't give any explanations as he turned to the camera and continued. "Being a superhero _sucks_, especially bein' me! If you guys out there want to help people and actually make a difference, that's awesome, cause most people don't. But don't idolize us, cause we're all just as screwed up as the rest of you!"

_Speed: "I mean, I shouldn't be _anybody's_ role model!"_

A crowed has been watching the news report from the beginning, but it had grown exponentially since Speed's arrival. "Wow, he's humble _and_ honest! What a guy!"

"Speed, you're awesome!"

"God, it's like the Twilight Zone," groaned Wally, shocked, as the crowd's clamoring grew larger.

"It appears we may have another mob at hand!" exclaimed Ollie Williams just as the enamored fans rushed forward.

Crossing his arms and reverting to a state of pure energy, the speed specter screamed "Enough!" as he instantly absorbed the momentum of every single person around him.

"Don't worry, their little time out'll be over as soon as I leave," explained Wally West, looking straight into the camera's lens. "I hope you can see this isn't _our_ fault. The Titans _will_ figure out what's going on here though, I guarantee that."

_Speed: "Hell, that may just be the scariest thing I've ever seen! Something really twisted's going on here, definitely! This is one time I'm actually happy I can do something about it, cause _nobody_ should be my fan!"_

**TITANS TOWER—MEETING ROOM**

A situation this big warranted a team meeting! Standing at a podium before a long table was Mr. Loren Jupiter, the Titans' owner, financer, and the director of their show. Six of his Teen Titans—only Raven was missing—sat facing the gaudily dressed man. Several of their friends were present as well: Cyborg's girlfriend, Sarah Simms, sat in his lap, while Dick Grayson's namesake, the younger Robin, watched the proceedings from the back of the room, leaning against a wall.

"So you mean to tell me that _all_ of you were nearly attacked by mobs today?"

"What, don't believe us?" grumbled Speed. "It's all over the news!"

Cyborg spoke up. "They nearly stoned Gar, Sarah an' me at the park!"

"They were quite persistent with Raven and myself at the store as well," added Starfire.

"And I ran into them while I was doing my…errands," said Wonder Girl, only realizing half-way through her sentence she'd need to find a way not to incriminate herself about Terry.

Dick grinned. "Aw man, an' here I thought they were just after _me_! Now it's the rest of you guys too?! That's lame!"

_Robin: "Ha, Donna gave me a reeeeal mean look there, but who gives a s--?! If I have to protect her stupid secret, you bet I'm gonna have some fun with it!"_

"This is way too creepy guys," said Beast Boy, slightly worried. "What're we gonna do?"

"We're going to figure out what's going on," declared Jupiter, "Then we're going to put a stop to it. We need to get to work and find some clues—"

Suddenly a giant bird-shaped field of black exploded through the room, and Raven appeared at the end of the table opposite of Jupiter. One of her massive, ancient books fell from the darkness, landing on the table, opened.

"Do not waste your time, Mr. Jupiter," advised Raven. "I have already discovered the source of our problems, and his name is Brother Blood…"

Next time: Undercover Brother


	15. Undercover Brother

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. My work borrows elements from their stories as well as those from the numerous other talented Titans writers over the years. I thank all of you for your amazing stories.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 15: Undercover Brother**

**ROLE CALL:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

**ON THE AIR—TITANS TOWER, MEETING ROOM**

The Teen Titans were the young, superpowered stars of the reality TV show _"The Real World: Titans Tower."_ They were a smash hit, and quickly became MTV's most popular program. Still, despite that fact, when the individual Titans found themselves under attack by mobs of crazed fans—crowds so frenzied that not even Raven's abilities could calm them, yet they scattered as soon as their target Titans escaped—they knew it wasn't just their rampant popularity that was to blame. Indeed, they were correct, for Raven had discovered the _true_ cause of their woes: Brother Blood!

"Wait a sec," said Beast Boy, "Did I miss something? Who the heck's Brother Blood?!"

_Beast Boy: "And why am I always the last to find stuff out?!"_

"I think we'd all like to know that, Garfield," commented the Titans' owner, financer, director and personal fashion disaster, Mr. Loren Jupiter. "And since Raven here seems to have the information at hand, why don't you share it with us?"

"Certainly," replied the empath. "Brother Blood is not any one person: The title is a mantle, passed on from generation to generation to anyone possessing the cowl of Blood." Despite having a large book containing all this information opened before her, Raven never once looked down. It was as if she had all this _memorized_.

"That cowl is the source of Brother Blood's significant power. It was created by a band of interdimensional travelers who nursed a grudge against the Monks of Azarath, the interdimensional haven where I was born and raised. At its most basic level, the cowl is capable of influencing emotion, which was a formidable offense against the Monks' empathic abilities. Though the Monks eventually overcame the travelers by sheer numbers alone, they were unable to manipulate the emotions of anyone under Brother Blood's influence. I was similarly unable to calm the mob that confronted me, which is what lead me to believe that somebody using the Blood Cowl is behind this."

_Starfire: "Odd, Raven did not mention that _everyone_ in Azarath was an empath when we talked—in fact, she sort of implied her powers were unique to her! Oh well, it is no doubt simply an oversight—I still believe her hunch!"_

"That is enough for me!" exclaimed the alien as she leapt to her feet. "Where do we find this Blood?! He must be taken care of!"

"Nobody knows, Koriand'r," said her friend somberly. "The cowl fell to Earth after the battle between the travelers and the Monks of Azarath. Though we kept track of the atrocities each Brother Blood committed, the last one died heirless over a thousand years ago. Not even the oldest living inhabitant of Azarath knows where it is now."

_Speed: "So wait a minute, those monks watched these guys to do terrible things for a thousand years and did nothing to stop it?! Okay, maybe it's not Raven's fault she's such a b-- if she was raised by guys like that!"_

_Raven: "The monks' inaction in matters like this and many more was one of the largest reasons I eventually left Azarath…"_

"But there must be some way to find him!" entreated Kory.

"Would it matter?" asked Donna Troy. "Wherever this Blood is, we have nothing concrete to tie him to the riots. Even if we did, we couldn't charge him for anything more than inciting a mob! Are you sure this guy's even a threat, Raven?"

_Wonder Girl: "It's not that I don't trust Raven, but…Hera, yes, I just don't really trust her. She never really ever speaks to us, now all of a sudden she spills her guts? I can't quite put my finger on it, but something's fishy here…"_

"I am _certain_, Wonder Girl," answered Raven, casting a piercing glare towards the Amazon. "You see, Blood's abilities extend far beyond simple mental influence. The cowl absorbs will and power from those it influences, increasing Blood's power. The more people he manipulates, the more powerful he becomes, and the more abilities he acquires. The Brother Blood cowl has the potential to grant _unlimited power_, and has never failed to entice the selfish greed of its wearer. _That_ is why it is so dangerous!"

_Raven: "Indeed, I can think of no greater threat than mankind's greed in weapon form!"_

"Okay, so this is definitely one bad dude," mused Gar. "So why is he using this ultimate power to bug a buncha teen superheroes?"

Dick Grayson smirked. "If he wanted to meet us that badly he shoulda just manipulated _us_. He may got ultimate power, but I don't think the guy's the swiftest, if you know what I mean."

If Wally West had eyes to roll, they'd certainly have been rolling then. "Why _nooo_, I never would've known what you meant if you hadn't tacked that on the end there! I wish I was as clever as you, Dick!"

"Thanks druggie," replied Robin nonchalantly, "But not everyone can be as talented as me!"

_Speed: "Good God he's a moron!"_

_Robin: "Alright, now I got another thing to add to my list of stuff that pisses off Wally!"_

_Cyborg: "Okay, can't let that bickering go on!"_

"It's a trap," interjected the metal man, looking as serious as he could with his girlfriend Sarah Simms perched on his lap. "Yer right Dick, he wouldn't waste his time bein' so round about with his attack if it wasn't some kinda trick!"

The acrobat looked confused. "I said that?"

"More or less," chuckled Vic. "Anyway, I think the mobs were some kinda lure—I think he _wants_ us to find him."

"So, that still doesn't answer my question," sighed Beast Boy. "Why's he after _us_?!"

"Even I am not sure of that," Raven sadly explained. "The only link connecting Blood and the Titans is my tie to Azarath, but there should be no way anyone on Earth could know of that."

Starfire was frustrated at the lack of action. "It does not matter why!" she exclaimed. "We must stop him!"

"And walk right into a trap?!" Donna interjected indignantly. "We're not _that_ stupid!"

_Wonder Girl: "Well, most of us aren't, anyway."_

"Trap or not, Blood cannot be allowed to continue," insisted Raven. "If his power is allowed to continue to grow, then we might not be able to stop him! We would be helpless against his immense strength!"

"Besides," explained Vic, "I doubt Blood's gonna give up after just one try! The mobs're gonna get worse 'til we _do_ somethin' about him!"

Flustered, Donna didn't want to admit she hadn't thought of that. "Good point. Fine, so how are we going to track him down?"

_Wonder Girl: "See, part of being a good leader is knowing when you're wrong and being able to take the advice of your teammates!"_

"Finding Blood? That's where I come in." Stepping forward from the shadows in the back of the room was the younger Robin, the mysterious partner to the Batman and the namesake, teacher _and_ student of Dick Grayson, the Titans' resident Robin. "If Blood is trying to lure you guys, then he had to leave you a trail to follow. The question is, are we smart enough to find it?"

Gar Logan looked back and forth for a few seconds, then shrugged and asked, "So, _are_ we?"

Chuckling, the young detective replied, "Of course! Dick, what's the most important rule of detective work?"

The acrobat's trademark grin filled his face—he actually knew the answer! "The number one rule? Easy: nothing's _ever _random!"

"Exactly! So, what about this case seems random?"

To their credit, several of the Titans figured it out, but Dick was the fastest. "The mobs themselves!"

"Ya got it," commended the Batman's protégé. "Titans, do you have any way to get info on the guys that attacked you all?"

"Already on it!" exclaimed Cyborg enthusiastically as his mechanical eye lit up neon blue. "I took pictures of the mob that went after Sarah, Gar 'n I that I'll upload to our holo screen, and I should be able to tap into the security cameras of the store Starry and Rae got attacked at."

"I was on TV when I was mobbed: the Channel 4 news," interjected Wally.

Vic instantly grasped the speedster's point. "Got it. I'll hook into our TIVO and upload their pictures too. Dick, Donna, any way I can find _your_ mobs?"

"Nah," laughed the older Robin, "I can't remember where we were anyway, y'know? 'Sides, don't you have enough info as it is?"

"Guess ya got a point," replied Cyborg with a shrug. "Alright, just give me a sec to pull up the vids." As the half machine worked his magic, Dick winked at his Amazonian pal.

_Robin: "If that didn't impress her, then nothin' will!"_

_Wonder Girl: "Well. Perhaps I underestimated Dick. He's still childish and reckless, but I'm impressed at how smart he's been deciphering the Blood case so far, and he was able to help hide that I was with Terry when the mobs attacked!_

_"As for Terry though, this is getting complicated. I've got to figure out what to do about him before the show catches up and puts us together on-air!"_

A thin sliver of bright blue light leapt from the center of the table, projecting holographic images of the mobs. "How many girls can say their boyfriend's a living Swiss Army Knife?" asked Sarah Simms as she looked towards Vic lovingly. "I am _so_ lucky!"

_Cyborg: "See, from anybody else that could be an insult, but not Sarah!"_

_Speed: "Okay, so Vic and I both lost our bodies, in a way our _humanity_, but he's got that girl all _over_ him while they treat me like a leper! What's the difference?!"_

"Alright," continued the smaller Robin as he leaned over the table to get a better look, "Now that we've got info on these guys, how do you think we track them down?"

"Holy s--!" exclaimed Sarah, interrupting the proceedings as she took a closer look at the mug shots. "Don't worry about it, kid! I know all these guys!"

Victor Stone raised an eyebrow. "_All_ of them?"

"Well, I'm not friends with most of them or anything, hell, I don't even know a lot of their names! But I know the faces! _Everybody_ in those mobs goes to my college!"

"Then _that's_ where we'll find Blood!" exclaimed Dick happily.

"_Brilliant_ deduction," deadpanned his young counterpart as he headed for the door.

"Hey, where're you goin'?"

Grinning, little Robin left the room. "Hey, I'm the one with no free time, remember? I've done my part here! See ya next lesson!"

_Robin: "Heh. It's frustratin' to everybody else, but that "kid of mystery" acts still pretty cool."_

"Finally, it is time to act!" exclaimed Starfire. "I say we go down to this school right this instant and find this madman!"

"Chill _out_ Kory!" commanded Donna. "Maybe we know _where_ he is, but we still don't know _who_ Brother Blood is! We don't know if he really is a he!"

"Sister Blood?" Beast Boy mulled that over for a second. "Ew."

"Damn, Blood's smart," grumbled Vic. "He gives us a trail straight to 'im, but leaves it up in the air who he really is! This way we can't just run in an' bash 'im like Starry wants to or run surveillance or anything either! There's only one way we can play it: we have to give 'im what he wants!"

"But doesn't he want ultimate power?" asked Gar, scratching his head. "I didn't think we had that to give."

"_No_, Gar," sighed Donna, "He wants _us_, remember? And Vic, I'm not going to lead this team straight into a trap, no matter what!"

Victor wasn't dissuaded. "That's right, you're not. I'm going in there alone."

"_What?!_" Donna Troy, to say the least, was angry. "That's an even _stupider_ idea!"

_Wonder Girl: "And besides that, he keeps going against my decisions in this case! Vic's called orders several times before and though its pissed me off, I didn't say anything because one, they were very good orders and two, I could tell he didn't mean anything by it. Today it's like he's deliberately trying to usurp me! I'm not saying his plan didn't turn out to be a decent idea, but he sure could have introduced it better!_

_"Plus, I think that girlfriend of his makes him cocky!"_

"But it's the only idea that might work!" insisted the metal man. "I actually have a reason to show up at that school, remember? My girlfriend goes there! If I visit campus with Sarah, Blood doesn't have much reason to suspect we know! Sure, it's a long shot, but I can't think of anything that might work better—can any of you?"

An awkward silence filled the room—obviously, there were no better ideas to be found in the Titans' collective craniums.

"So, take my boyfriend to school day?" asked Sarah, shattering the silence. "Sounds like fun. Everybody's gonna be _so_ jealous!"

_Starfire: "Oh, it is so wonderful to see two people so in love!"_

_Wonder Girl: "Yeah, not a big fan of the public displays of affection either."_

"This may be the only way to penetrate Blood's mental probing," added Raven. "Our entire team would most certainly rouse his suspicions."

Donna was outnumbered. "Fine. Mr. Jupiter, what do _you_ think?"

"It seems like you don't have much other choice. Still, I want the rest of you to be scouted out a couple of blocks away and wait for Cyborg's signal. If he needs help, I want you to be able to get there fast."

"Fair enough," acquiesced the team leader. "But still, I think Vic needs somebody close for back-up, just in case. Speed! You can turn intangible! Stay like that so nobody can see you, and keep an eye on him, okay?"

"Fine," grunted Wally, barely audible.

_Speed: "What? It's not like I'd get out of it no matter what I tried, and shadowing Vic all day should be more bearable than staking it out with the rest of the team. Just barely, but still, definitely more bearable."_

"So," asked Cyborg, "Tomorrow?"

"Sounds fine with me," said his girlfriend with a smile. "I've got most of my classes, so we lucked out with that."

"Then tomorrow it is!" exclaimed Jupiter with much gusto. "Sleep well my Titans, tomorrow will be a big day!"

As his team started to clear out, however, the director called for their leader. "Donna! Hold up!"

"Yes?" asked Wonder Girl curiously.

"I just wanted to point out that you and your team tracked down Blood and formulated a workable plan all on your own. You guys are really coming along!"

The girl's eyes lit up. "Thank you!"

_Wonder Girl: "And he was right! That was enough to make me feel a lot better about everything! Maybe this will all work out after all!"_

**DCU UNIVERSITY—SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA**

One of California's most prestigious colleges, DCU University had given rise to scholars, doctors, lawyers, Nobel prize winners, and—unbeknownst to anyone outside the Teen Titans—the newest Brother Blood! On this certain day, one of those Titans had transversed its halls in search of this Blood—but that goal certainly wasn't stopping him from noticing plenty of other details!

_Cyborg: "Wow, this is one impressive place! Pretty intimidating, really. I'm not used to bein' around people with so much money! Not since I was a kid, at least, when my pops would drag me to these fundraisers his bosses at STAR Labs would throw. Even back then I felt outta place, and I do now too."_

"Pretty ritzy place here," whistled Vic. "How do ya afford this kinda tuition?"

"Actually, my father's pretty rich," replied the machine man's girlfriend, Sarah Simms. "Not that we were really treated like it. My father's not a huge fan of money, really. He's made a fortune on all the patents he holds, but he barely touches it. I mean, when I was a kid I still had to work for everything I got. The last thing he wanted was for my brother or me to be spoiled.

"Come to think of it, our tuition is the first real big purchase he's made in years, but then again, education _is_ one of the most important thing in the world to him. That's where he really stuck his neck out when we were kids. Dad always had some kinda experiment going on he'd let us be a part of. Really fueled my brother and I to love to learn. I'll always appreciate that."

Victor had become slightly misty-eyed. "Wow. That's pretty cool, Sarah. My folks tried the same when I was a kid, but I didn't really appreciate it until it was too late…"

_Cyborg: The accident that destroyed my body also bathed both my parents in intense radiation. It took almost all their strength to rebuild me, and like I've said before, I freaked. I didn't appreciate it at all! I did manage to come around and apologize to them before they died, but even now I _still_ feel guilty 'bout all that time I wasted."_

"That's too bad, Vic," replied Sarah somberly. "If they could see what you've done with your life, they'd be proud."

Vic grinned from ear to ear, yet, at the same time, felt slightly melancholy, and not just because of his parents.

_Cyborg: "Sarah's so perfect, and it's kinda scary, 'cause all that perfection's kinda suspicious!"_

"So, my next class is psychology," continued the 'perfect' girlfriend. "Psychology with Professor Sebastian—sometimes I wonder if that guy'd be better off _with_ a psychologist than teaching it!"

Her boyfriend only half caught that, being somewhat preoccupied. "Vic, what's wrong? Are you still worried about not finding any sign of Blood yet?"

"It's not that," sighed the metal-man. "It's just that, well, Brother Blood took control of probably half the school when he attacked us, yet, one of the students is _dating_ a Titan and he ignores her completely?" If Victor Stone still needed to sweat, it'd have been coming out bullets by then. "What if this, what if our whole _relationship_ is all manipulated by Blood, just a part of his stupid plan?!"

Sarah frowned. "Let's not even _think_ about that, Victor. I've been burned plenty of times before—my fault for being too eager to love somebody, I suppose. Nowadays I only date somebody I _really_ care for, Vic, and _nobody's_ going to make me do otherwise!" She clenched her fist. "I know what I feel, and the way I feel about you _can't_ be faked!"

She was expecting to have to go on, but the once doubt-filled half-robot was once again cheerful. "You've got _no_ idea how good that makes me feel!" he exclaimed. "I was hoping I was wrong, and I just needed to hear it from you!"

"I'm sure Professor Sebastian'd have _some_ sorta of name for that," chuckled Sarah as she wrapped her arm around his elbow and pulled him through an open door. Inside was her psychology class, nearly full of teenagers and twenty-somethings occupying tiered rows of desks that descended like seats at a stadium, all facing a desk and a large whiteboard.

"HEY EVERYBODY!" Sarah shouted, trying to act like that was a casual greeting.

_Cyborg: "She did that at every class we went to, and it never stopped bein' embarassin'!"_

Loud conversations between students trailed off suddenly as they turned to see what all the hubbub was about—and shocked murmuring filled its place just as suddenly. "Holy s--," exclaimed one student, "Is that Cyborg?!"

"In the flesh!" replied Sarah. "And metal too, I suppose."

Half the class jumped to their feet and crowded around the couple.

_Cyborg: "I was afraid it was another mob, but nah, they really were just that excited to meet me! I _wanna_ say that I don't understand why those kids care so much, but I'd kinda be a hypocrite, 'cause I'm sure that's just how I felt back when we first met the Justice League!"_

The questions, complaints, and jealous stares continued for several minutes, until Professor Sebastian entered the room. He was an unassuming man, only standing about 5'9". He wore an outdated checkered gray suit with brown pads on the elbows, a white shirt, and a gray and blue striped tie. Small streaks of gray were starting to invade his brown hair, though a receding hairline seemed to be racing to see which could take over his head first. The expression he wore was actually rather forlorn—until he noticed Sarah and Vic!

"Cyborg?!" Rushing to the Titan's side, Sebastian's face was getting flushed. "This is a wonderful surprise!"

"Vic and I've been dating," bragged Sarah. "He wanted to see my school, and I, well, hell, I just wanted to show all of you!"

"Outstanding," smiled Sebastian. "I trust you've been enjoying it here thus far, Mr. Stone?"

Shrugging slightly, Vic replied, "Sure."

Professor Sebastian laughed. "Good! If you weren't, we'd have to kill you!" He only received blank stares. "What?! It's just a joke!"

_Cyborg: "You meet some pretty damn strange people bein' a superhero, but this guy is still pretty high on the strange list! He's just…weird."_

"Anyway," continued the odd teacher, "Guest or not, it's time to begin. Class, take your seats!" As everybody shuffled into a desk, Professor Sebastian grabbed a marker and began to write on the board. "Mr. Stone, I trust you know how popular your show is? Who here watches it?" The hands of most of the class went up. "So, I hope you can see how much of an honor it is to have you here!"

As he spoke, Sebastian scrawled the name of the seven Titans on his board. "I've been mulling this lesson over for a while now, but with Mr. Stone's arrival today, it seems like a most appropriate day to give it a shot! You see class, what fascinates me the most about the Titans and their show is all the psychological motivations of the Titans!" He started to write next to each Titans' name. "Overactive egos, inferiority complexes, _superiority _complexes, self loathing, anti-social tendencies, these kids sure are a varied bunch!"

"Professor Sebastian seems to think everybody's got something wrong with them in their heads," whispered Sarah into the one flesh ear of her beau. "You guys're like a field day to him!"

_Cyborg: "I didn't really appreciate bein' used like a workbook in some lesson of his, and this theory about everybody bein' sick is just _stupid_, but I can see why that'd draw the guy to us Titans. Wally alone'd be enough to keep a shrink busy for years!"_

Sebastian stepped away from his board and sauntered towards his desk. "Really, the only Titan that doesn't have some glaring personality flaw is our own Mr. Stone here!" Vic sank further into his seat. "So tell me, is there something hidden deep within your psyche we should all know about?"

Sarah sprang to her feet, slamming her hands on her desk. "Not everybody has something _wrong_ with them, Professor Sebastian! Vic's the oldest and I'd say the wisest, and he really holds the Titans together! You've seen how Gar looks to him for friendship, and even Donna respects his opinions!"

"Indeed," replied Sebastian with a smile. While Sarah had been talking the teacher had opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out something large, and now he stood up, revealing the object to be a cowl in the shape of a skull, with an open mouth and eye holes—no doubt the Cowl of Brother Blood!

Before anybody could say or do anything, he slipped it over his head. Immediately he was enveloped in red energy, and as it started to fade, a red and black suit could se seen adorning him, though most of it was covered by a blood red cloak. Professor Sebastian had become Brother Blood, but neither the teacher-turned-supervillain nor his students seemed surprised—only Cyborg and Sarah!

_Cyborg: 'Kay, Sebastian's Blood. Pretty obvious now looking aback on it, but at the time I was pretty surprised. I mean, yeah he was odd as hell, but I was tryin' to give him the benefit of the doubt!"_

"You were right, Miss Simms," continued Blood, "Your boyfriend there _is_ the glue that holds the Titans together. He's a tough egg to crack—but I _do_ enjoy a challenge!"

Immediately the rest of the class surrounded the couple, moving supernaturally fast. They were quiet and stood rigid and still—like zombies. Their eyes glowed blood red.

_Cyborg: "All those kids were just victims, bein' used like puppets! I didn't want to hurt 'em too bad, but I definitely couldn't just let 'em attack us either!"_

The Titan thrusted both of his arms to the sides as a dome of fluorescent blue energy erected itself around himself and his girlfriend. With a grunt the shield dissipated, sending energy flying in all directions and scattering the mindless mob. "Sarah, stay back!" commanded Vic as a cannon emerged from his chest, firing a concussive blast. Grinning slyly, Blood extended his right arm and nullified the attack with a small burst of crimson energy that radiated from his fingertips.

_Cyborg: "Well, Raven didn't mention _that_. I guess he can convert all that will he siphons from his pawns into pretty much any kinda power he wants—damn, that really _is_ ultimate power!"_

The madman reciprocated with a blast of his own hijacked energy, and his opponent met it once again with his shield. As Cyborg's defenses lowered, however, he found himself suddenly frozen in place! Crimson electricity crackled across his head.

"Your pretty little girlfriend was right, you know, that wasn't a lie," taunted Blood. "As I said, I enjoy a challenge—so I'm certainly happy you're the Titan they sent! Firing blasts and punches and all that rot, it's a waste of time! A battle of wills between you and I—now _that's_ fun!"

"Leave him the hell alone!" screamed Sarah Simms as she charged, her protection instincts overpowering her common sense. Blood barely batted an eyelash as he mentally commanded her classmates to restrain her.

"Sarah!" As much as Victor Stone wanted to take action, it was simply a physical impossibility at the moment. His diverted attention broke his concentration, and Vic was knocked to his knees by the weight of the mental attack.

Always a fighter, Sarah struggled with all her might. "You're a lunatic, Sebastian! This all, it's just, it's just f--ing crazy!"

"Why Miss Simms, you're mistaken on both accounts!" The man who was once Professor Sebastian gleefully expounded upon his thoughts. "I'm _certainly_ not a lunatic, and I am no longer Professor Sebastian! When I was that fool I had _nothing_! I was a lonely, middle-aged teacher! But finding this cowl, ah! That changed everything! It gave me confidence, and the power to have everything I ever wanted: money, respect, women! All at my fingertips!"

"Then Robin was right," grunted Vic. "You're pretty damn stupid to use all that power just to come after _us_!"

_Cyborg: "As Gar would say, 'He got owned!' As worth it as that was, though, I s'pose it was pretty damn stupid on my _own_ part to insult the maniacal supervillain holding myself and my girlfriend captive!"_

"Mr. Stone, as I'm sure your empathic friend told you, I absorb power from those I influence. However, that doesn't just top at _mental_ strength—for people like you, people with _powers_, there's much more! If I take full control of you, I can claim your abilities for my own!"

_Cyborg: "Great, now I don't even know if I should call the other Titans or not! They have the power to beat this punk, but not if he takes it first!"_

"Of course," continued Blood, "Attracting the attention of most of you super-hero types isn't easy. There's no way to draw out, say, Superman without planning some elaborate robbery or hostage situation and that would be bringing down too much heat on myself! But you! The Teen Titans' identities are public, your lives broadcasted on television, your base is practically a public monument! Luring all of you and taking your abilities was so easy, a fast food employee could've done it!"

_Cyborg: "Finally, I get a villain that loves to hear himself talk, and I can't even take advantage of the weakness! I was too distracted by the fact that this was partially our fault! Prolly was just what the bastard wanted…"_

Vic pushed against the floor, but trying to lift himself up felt like he was trying to carry the Earth on his shoulders!

"My my, you _won't_ give up, will you?" Blood's eyes started to glow, and small sparks of red static leapt from his fingertips. "I could keep this up all day, but why should I? After all, after a while even sparring with the _strongest_ adversary gets boring!

"These students, I broke their free will nearly immediately—now controlling them is no longer a strain, it's simply more like, say, moving my finger. But your mind, Mr. Stone—and the mind of most super-hero types, I might add—it's much stronger than normal. So instead, I offer you a deal: Submit _freely_ to me and I will reward you with your fondest desire!"

Both Vic and Sarah gasped aloud.

"What, do you think I'm unable to fulfill this?" Brother Blood nearly fell over from laughing so hard. "Please! With my power I can give you anything you want, no matter how impossible it seems! Come now, Mr. Stone, surely you want _something_! Would you like your body back? Your parents restored to life? Or perhaps you'd simply like the hand of Miss Simms in marriage?"

_Cyborg: "At the moment I sure could've gone for Sarah, and my folks _deserve_ to be brought back. But my body? I dunno—bein' a cyborg doesn't bother me that much anymore. I guess I'm used to it now, as much as I can be at least. Besides, before the accident I was a totally different person. Becomin' Cyborg has taught me a lot, and more importantly, it let me help a ton of people! I…I dunno if I want to give that up—not without a lot of thought at least!_

_"More importantly, though, I can't give into what Blood wants! I'm not sure if he can even _do_ what he says he can, but it don't matter! If I had to choose between my happiness or the fate of the world, I'll choose the world anytime!"_

The weight of the world now pressed down on Victor Stone's shoulders both literally _and_ figuratively, but the burden of that responsibility only gave him the motivation he needed! "What do I want, Blood?" With a tremendous push Vic managed to hoist himself back onto his feet! "All I want is to save Sarah and stop you!"

"That's my man!" exclaimed Sarah. Unfortunately, her celebration was premature. Bands of blood red energy leapt from the ground and ensnared Cyborg, pulling him onto his back and sending a shock through his system.

"Your man couldn't save his woman," growled Brother Blood as he beckoned the pawns that held Sarah. "But don't worry, he'll be a lot useful to me than he was you. Come! We've still got some errands to complete before the others arrive!"

On the professor's command the wall before him slid open, revealing a secret passage that lead deep underground. Sarah Simms barely noticed it. She was more worried about her boyfriend—he wasn't moving, and his mechanical eye was simply blinking, and dimly at that!

"VIC!"

Alas, he couldn't hear her cry. The wall slid shut behind her as her mind-washed teammates followed the path to whatever laid below.

**THE HALLWAY OUTSIDE SEBASTIAN'S CLASSROOM**

Wally West, the living energy being known as Speed, had been tailing Victor and Sarah all day. Frankly, he was sick of it.

_Speed: "Okay, I know I should've gone with them into class. I know that more _now_ than ever! But I just hate seeing those two together, so happy! It'd been wearing on me all day, and then after that conversation they had about her childhood and whether she was being controlled, I'd reached my breaking point! You can't blame me for taking a little break, right? They're disgusting!_

_"All I did was run around screaming for a few minutes anyway, just enough time to run off my anger for a little bit. Didn't actually think I'd miss anything while I was off doing it!"_

Unfortunately, Wally was dead wrong. As he slowed, finishing his venting, he reverted to only a thin wisp of energy, essentially invisible to any who might be looking on. He floated outside the door to Professor Sebastian's psychology classroom, debating whether he was up to taking a peek inside.

He didn't have very long to debate—bright flashes of red light escaping through the slim crack beneath the door made up his mind for him.

_Speed: "Great, the one time I didn't follow them and they get attacked by Blood! Can't they take care of themselves for a second?! I'm the one who'll get blamed for this, just you watch!"_

The specter charged for the door. In his intangible state he expected to move straight through it—instead he was intercepted like a poorly thrown football! A shield of Blood's power blocked Speed's path, igniting with a fierce blast that even threw Speed's supposedly intangible form soaring backwards.

He _was_ only energy, but despite that Blood still managed to give him quite a shock. Speed Force energy fluctuated wildly for a few seconds, taking all shorts of random shapes before slowly reforming Wally's human figure, hunched against the corner wall.

_Speed: "It figures Raven would be right about this. If Blood could hurt me that bad he must be some seriously bad news!"_

Laying still, Wally took a few seconds to think. Though he wasn't happy with his new state, the abilities it granted him sure made being a super-hero easy for him. Now he really had to be creative!

_Speed: "Blood thought he was keeping me out, and if I was just a normal fast guy like Impulse or Flash, he'd be right. Unfortunately, I'm not—_I'm _just energy. I'm not connected directly to the Speed Force like they are—I _am_ the Speed Force. I f--ing hate it, but it's definitely gotten me outta some jams, this one included!_

_"Y'see, everything that moves is given that speed and momentum, the energy they're using to move, from the Speed Force. If _anything_ in that room's moving, I should be able to lock onto the source of its movement, and travel through the Speed Force into the room!_

_"Considering I can pretty much run faster than light anyway, that power used to seem pretty stupid, but I guess it came in handy today!"_

Wally didn't know exactly what he was doing, but he gave it a shot anyway—scoping through the annals of the Speed Force, he felt a small movement that seemed to be coming from the barricaded room. Retreating into the force itself, Wally focused only on that movement, until he felt himself merging with the motion.

Inside Sebastian's classroom, a standard white clock sat high on a wall. The second hand started to tick faster and faster, then it span, quickly becoming a thin red blur. Suddenly the clock erupted as lightning struck, Speed's malleable body exploding from the Speed Force and slowly condensing into its solid form on the ground below.

Unfortunately, he was too late. The room was trashed, and everybody gone—except for Cyborg, unconscious on the floor. Wally rushed to his side and tried to rouse him, and when that didn't work, he leaned over the mechanical man and lent him some of his energy. Vic's mechanical eye started to flash faster and faster, until the blinking green light was nearly a blur.

_Speed: "I could feel that the only thing in him with any speed was his self-repair thingy, so I lent it as much speed as I could. Instead of a few hours, he'd be on his feet in a few minutes—but I didn't have time to wait. Patience has never been one of my virtues, and now that I'm the fastest thing on this planet it's no better!"_

Probing the Speed Force once more, Wally felt a whole crowd moving behind the far wall—and instantly he had run through it, planning on punching Blood's lights out before he even knew. With the room sealed off, Blood hadn't even bothered to seal the wall—still, the Titan suddenly found himself bouncing as he had when he tried to enter the room the first time!

Landing on his butt of compressed speed energy, Wally West looked up to see Brother Blood looming above him, energy crackling across his chest. Instantly he was back on his feet, ready to end this fast!

"So I guess you're Brother Blood, huh?" Speed stated the obvious. "I don't know what you're trying to do, but I've screwed up enough today, so I'm making up for it by taking you down!"

Blood seemed crushed. "But why? Seriously, that hurt! I only wanted to help you!"

"Bulls--!"

Wally took a step backwards as Blood reached for him, but something made him stop. A crimson light shone from the professor's palm, and slowly the Titan started to change. He grew skin, his head sprouted short red hair, before he knew it he was even wearing jeans and a t-shirt—and then it was all gone. He'd returned to being a speed specter—but more than ever, he didn't want that!

"See, Mr. West? I can give you your fondest desire. I can give you your body back! All I ask is your complete and total devotion…I want your _will_."

_Speed: "Don't think I'm an idiot. I knew all along Blood didn't want to help me—he just wanted what I could give him. I knew that, when faced with the choice between my happiness and the fate of the world, I should choose the world. It would've been the right thing to do._

_"But he could give me my _body_ back—my _life_ back! I knew it was the wrong thing to do, but really…can you blame me? What else could I have done?"_

**THE T-SHIP—SEVERAL BLOCKS AWAY**

The T-Ship—the appropriately t-shaped hover-jet used by the Teen Titans—sat in a vacant lot several blocks away from the DCU University campus. It was in camouflage mode, essentially invisible to anybody who might be passing by.

"Boy, I hope some kids don't come by and try to play baseball here or something," mused Beast Boy. "They'd run right into the ship!"

"Eh," dismissed Robin, "This is San Francisco! All the kids around here play interior decorator, not baseball!"

Starfire floated from window to window, peering out curiously. "Are you sure they cannot see us, Donna? If the outside of the ship is invisible, should not others see us inside?" 

"The T-ship's not actually invisible, Kory," explained Donna. "It's just refracting light around the T-ship so others see a reflection of what's behind us, not the ship itself!"

_Wonder Girl: "Now my sister's plane—_that's_ actually invisible!"_

"S--, _that's_ how it works?" Dick Grayson was crestfallen, actually falling into one of the cushy leather seats, landing on his butt with a thud. "G—dammit, there goes my plan to create a line of invisible lingerie!"

"But if they were invisible," asked Koriand'r, "Then what would be the point of even wearing them at all?" Dick just stared at her blankly.

_Robin: "I hadn't thought it through _that_ far!"_

With a sigh Gar Logan laid on his back, his arms behind his head. "Man, this is really starting to get boring! I wish Vic would just find Blood already so we could get this over with!" Chuckling slightly, the changeling continued, "'Sides, I'm really curious what this guy looks like!"

Suddenly, Raven was at the green kid's side. "Skull-shaped cowl, blood red cloak. All the Brother Bloods have essentially looked the same."

"Geez, not much for self-expression, is he?"

"Of course not," replied the empath curtly. "After all, Blood strives to gain the free will of others. A loss of individuality is only a natural side-effect of that."

"True enough," replied Gar with a sigh. "I guess if you've seen one supervillain, you've seen 'em all."

_Raven: "I can sense that, despite his excuses of curiosity about Brother Blood, Beast Boy is mostly worried about his friend. As dangerous as Cyborg's mission is, I can see why he would be so distressed."_

Ignoring the shapeshifter's words, the empath cut straight to the heart of the matter. "Do not worry, Beast Boy. I have been keeping track of Cyborg, and I sense no distress from him. In fact, quite the opposite—he has felt much pride and wonder today."

_Wonder Girl: "Being in love will do that to you. I…I get that feeling every time I talk to Terry! I used to feel that way when I was with Kyle…sometimes I still do but now sometimes I don't too! I wonder what's changed?"_

"What of Wally, Raven?" Starfire was never one to forget any of her friends. "Is he safe too?"

"Speed is fine. He is agitated, of course, but he is fine."

Suddenly pulsing red lights started to blink, accompanied by an obnoxiously loud siren. "Well _that_ sure changed fast!" exclaimed Donna Troy as she checked the Danger Signal's notes on the dashboard. "Yup, Cyborg triggered it all right! We've got to move now!"

The Titans dashed for the door of their vessel, but suddenly found themselves overcome by waves of black. "Normally I cannot transport this many people," explained Raven, "But at this close distance, I _should_ have the strength to bring us all to Cyborg's side!"

"Should?!" Garfield Logan's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "But what if you can't?!"

"I _can_," insisted their dark companion. Her four teammates continued to fall into the dark abyss within Raven' Soul Self, floating in an endless sea of nothingness, devoid of scenery and color, of anything except…_cold_.

_Beast Boy: "Man, I really didn't like that! Super super creepy, and super cold too! Good thing I can become a polar bear!"_

_Robin: "S--, floating 'round inside of Raven must be what a bad high feels like, or at least what it's like in space!"_

_Starfire: "While the darkness did remind me of outer space, it is not actually that cold there. The chill, and the lack of even stars, that made me think more of what death must be like…"_

_Wonder Girl: "Well, this certainly doesn't make me trust Raven more! Diana once told me of her trip to Hades, and from what she described, Hades and Raven's Soul Self are far too similar! It's unsettling that her powers are so similar to death!"_

Fortunately, it was over nearly as soon as it began, and the four Titans found themselves shivering on the floor of Professor Sebastian's disheveled classroom, Raven floating above them.

"Well it certainly beats the bus," joked Dick, "But I think I'll stick to swinging on ropes. Not quite as cold, and it scores more points with the chicks."

"VIC!" Beast Boy quickly put his disorienting trip behind him as he rushed to his comatose friend's side, trying desperately to rouse him. "He's not waking up! Whadda we do?!"

There was no time to respond, however, as the blinking light in Cyborg's eye stopped blinking and glowed a solid blue. Victor Stone bolted upright like he'd been awakened from a nightmare. "SARAH!" It took a few seconds for the machine man to reorient himself, and realize that Blood and his cronies were gone, but his teammates had come in their place.

"Sarah's not here, Vic," said Garfield. "What happened?"

"Last I remember, Blood tried to take over my mind, and when he couldn't, he fried my circuits! My self-repair must've just finished up, but with the damage Blood did that would've taken hours!'

"Hours?" Donna Troy was confused. "But we got here immediately after the alarm sounded!" Leering towards her teammate, she added, "Raven made sure of it."

Squealing joyfully, Koriand'r realized, "Wally must have sped your healing up, Vic, then went after Blood! I knew we could count on him!"

_Wonder Girl: "I don't know whether it would be nice or frustrating to be as constantly optimistic as Kory, but it's sure frustrating for the rest of us!"_

"Good," said Victor joylessly as he climbed to his feet. "Then we need to contact him and find out where Blood went!"

"No need," interjected Raven. "Behind that wall I can sense many people, though with Brother Blood so nearby I am having trouble focusing on their feelings."

Vic smashed his fist into his palm. "Then that's where he'll be! Okay guys, we need to—"

"Cyborg, hold on!" Wonder Girl grabbed her metallic teammate by the shoulder. "What are you doing? I'm the leader here!"

"But this was my mission!"

"The recon was all your mission was, and—"

"He has _Sarah_!" Neither Titan would budge, so Cyborg just turned back to the wall. "I don't care what you do, but I'm going after Sarah!"

"Fine." Donna crossed her arms with a huff. "But this isn't over."

_Cyborg: "Mean thing to do? Yeah, definitely. I definitely have to fix this soon. I'm…not used to having somebody like Sarah. My emotions got in the way. Y'know, I dunno if I even realized I was pushing her aside. I just wanted to get to Sarah so bad!"_

"So Starry, you're always complainin' about having to hold back? How 'bout knockin' down that wall for me?"

Green light sparked to life in the alien's eyes. "With pleasure!" The school shook as a bolt of energy barreled through the wall like a bullet train at full speed, revealing a dark passage underground.

"Yeah," grunted Gar, "That ain't suspicious."

With nothing but candles on the wall lighting the way, the six Titans hesitantly ventured down the long staircase, trying to move stealthily but still fast. Finally they reached the bottom, and found a large cavern, made to look like a dimly lit church, including several super-tall stained-glass windows portraying Brother Blood!

"He sure grew an ego quick," growled Vic.

With that one sound, Brother Blood appeared from nowhere before the team, accompanied by his crowd of mind-washed students. "Mr. Stone! How nice of you to return to us! And you brought friends! I'm so pleased to meet all of you!"

"Shove it, Blood! Where's Sarah?!"

Again, the master manipulator acted as if his entire ego was crushed. "Oh, you'll meet her in time, Mr. Stone, but I don't appreciate being interrupted! And just when I was about to tell you about your other friend!"

In a golden streak, Wally West zoomed between the former professor and his teammates. The speed specter's eyes glowed red, just like those of the students. Though he was frowning, the corner of his makeshift mouth was just slightly upturned, like a smile.

"Hey guys," said Speed. "Funny meeting you here!"

Next time: Desire vs. Duty


	16. Desire vs Duty

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. Those characters and all other related characters are owned by DC Comics, and I use them without their permission, though certainly with much respect.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 16: Desire vs. Duty**

**ROLE CALL:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

**ON THE AIR—SECRET CHURCH BENEATH PROFESSOR SEBASTIAN'S CLASSROOM. DCU UNIVERSITY, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA **

The legend of Brother Blood dates back centuries to a conflict between two races of interdimensional beings, and he has created havoc with his lust for power ever since. Professor Sebastian, a disgruntled teacher at DCU University, was the latest to don the mantle, and he immediately took control of his students and set his sights on a far loftier goal: attaining the powers of the Teen Titans!

Unfortunately for those young heroes, he was 1/7th of the way there!

_Cyborg: "'Kay, so a power hungry madman's got my girlfriend, and is gunning for my friends an' me! So, as if that weren't bad enough, he's taken control of Wally—maybe our most powerful teammate!"_

Wally West, the specter of momentum known as Speed, stood between his supposed-teammates and the Blood-led army of warped students. "Surprised to see me?"

"Wally?!" Starfire, ever the eternal optimist, was shocked. "What are you doing?"

Wonder Girl, however, had never been an optimist, especially where Speed was involved. "Isn't it obvious, Star? He finally turned on us!"

_Raven: "Indeed, it certainly _was_ obvious. With Koriand'r as the main exception I felt very little surprise from the Titans—there was plenty of sadness and fear, but little surprise."_

"That's harsh," grumbled Wally as he outstretched his arms, absorbing golden energy from the six teens. It was their movement, and without it they were helpless, motionless! "Than again, so's life. Not all of you guys have been terrible to me—like you, Kory. I'm sorry you have to be here for this. But Blood's offered me something you guys never even bothered to _try_—he's going to give me my _body_ back!"

_Speed: "I mean, everybody from Vic to the Flash to even my Aunt Iris tried to get me to 'make the best of this', and to use my powers to 'do some real good out there,' but dammit, I can't anymore! For once I just want to think about myself and what I need, and finally somebody else is thinking about what I need too!"_

_Cyborg: "Blood made me the same offer he made Wally, and while it was temptin' there was no way I could accept it. But Wally…I had no idea he was that far gone. I've always seen a lot of myself in Wally. I was hopin' he'd learn to live with what happened to him, and that it would help him mature like it did me. Guess I was wrong, though. I don't think he'll _ever_ learn to handle it."_

"You are a fool." Black exploded beneath the speedster, sending him soaring amidst a storm of uprooted rock. Raven soared forward, the shadow-like fringes of her cloak leaping to life and engulfing Speed. "You really believe that madman's promises? He will only use you, Speed. He has your powers and your mind—he has no reason to keep his promise!"

_Raven: "My Soul Self is powered only by my mind and my empathy. I did not need the motion provided by the Speed Force to break free and attack."_

As the black dissipated the Titans could see that Wally was nowhere to be found. "I teleported him as far away as I possibly could," said the empath as her teammates regained their mobility. "After all, we have far more important things to worry about."

"Like me?" asked Blood coyly, shrugging his shoulders.

"Exactly," replied Raven, the outlines of colorless birds growing around her as she charged the master manipulator. "You shall no longer tamper with the minds of innocents!"

Brother Blood just shook his head. "Raven, Raven, Raven…you know better!" An aura of crimson energy, sapped straight from his mind-washed cronies, exploded around the former Professor and ate straight through the Titan's Soul Self! Blood palmed the empath's face and drove her into the ground before him, her body smoking from his attacks.

"The records this wonderful cowl keeps showed me everything about its creation, and filled me in all about you as well, Raven. We both well know you can do _nothing_ against me!"

_Raven: "He knows everything about me? That could be far more dangerous than just his mental powers…"_

Turning to the others, he continued, "Come now Titans, hear me out. I'll make you the same offer I made your speedy friend—I can give you whatever you want! Your fondest desire can be yours!"

_Beast Boy: "Man, I can't blame Wally for fallin' for it, not really! I know I'd give almost anything to have my parents and the Doom Patrol and Terra back in my life!"_

Vic had heard it all before, and had the same response. "Yeah, you give us what we want, but you take our free will and our superpowers in return! No deal, jerkface!"

_Beast Boy: "Heh, I knew there was a downside. Wally should've read the fine print!"_

The crowd behind Blood rustled at Cyborg's unkind words, but their leader easily calmed them. "Don't be upset, my children. He's just cranky because of his girlfriend." Three spotlights lit on the ceiling, all focused on Sarah Simms, strung up and gagged atop a tall statue of Blood himself!

'That's _it!_" exclaimed Vic as he leapt forward, powered by the boosters in the soles of his feet. "You're _mine_, Blood!"

A field of blood red energy erected itself at Blood's command and deflected the half-machine. "Haven't you learned you're no match for me alone, Mr. Stone?"

"That's why I'm here!" Taken by surprise, Brother Blood was knocked off balance by a roundhouse kick from Donna Troy.

_Wonder Girl: "I don't know why Vic has to keep grandstanding against this guy, but I'm not letting him fight Blood alone, and I'm certainly not letting him take all the glory!"_

With the wave of both of his hands, Blood immobilized the two leaders within dual spheres of pulsing power. "Please, not even all six of you could take me on together! It'd be as pointless as six flies trying to take down an elephant! So…let me give you something a little easier to combat!"

Waves of mental power radiated from the madman's head and overtook his mindless students, transforming them in a flash of light. "As I told Mr. Stone when this all began, I've already broken my students! I promised them the one thing they all desired: power! And now, I think I'll give them enough power to even defeat their idols…namely, you!"

As the light died down, the students all emerged with new disguises and appearances, each taking on the form of their own personal super-person. With Raven down, Speed gone and Donna and Vic trapped by Blood, the newly formed army charged for the remaining three Titans, the floor rumbling beneath their feet.

"Well," sighed Starfire as her eyes and hands lit up green, "It looks like it is just the three of us verses all of them!"

"Those are terrible odds!" squealed Garfield Logan.

"Yeah," grunted Robin as he reached for his utility belt. "They don't stand a chance!"

_Robin: "Damn, that sounded badass!"_

Dick Grayson tossed half a dozen disks from both hands, and as they hit home smoke, explosions and sheets of thick ice thinned out the crowd. He and his two friends wasted no time in charging and meeting the rest of the army!

Meanwhile, Raven finally managed to regain consciousness, floating from the hole Blood had put her in ready to take him down!

_Raven: "It is for my own good that I feel no emotion, lest my powers rage uncontrollably and bring pain to all! Yet, at that moment I found myself consumed with the need to bring vengeance upon Brother Blood. Perhaps it was for the good of everybody that I was not only unable to, but had another task handed to me, because none of the other Titans could have done what I did that battle anyway…"_

"It's about time you got up," growled Wally, materializing before his hurt love. "Did you really think teleporting me across the world would do any good? I could've ran back here two dozen times by the time you woke up!"

"Of course I knew that, Speed," replied Raven, not missing a beat. Again her cloak leapt to life, immersing the avatar of the Speed Force in her Soul Self. "I simply wished to distract you long enough to engage Blood. Now calm yourself, and allow yourself to again see clearly…"

The red indicator of Blood's control within Wally West's eyes just grew even stronger as he resisted his teammate's empathy. "Geez, you were the one who told us you couldn't control Blood's guys! What makes you think it'd work against me?"

"I was simply hoping to appeal to your humanity, Speed."

"Bulls--!" Stone exploded as Wally broke the sound barrier and hammered Raven in the face, sending her exploding through Blood's army. He was in hot pursuit. "Don't act like you've _ever_ cared about me, Raven! After all the times I tried to get close to you and you shot me down and insulted me, you have no right to say anything to me!"

As Raven's trip ended with her plowing into the far wall, Speed was right behind her and attacked with a vicious uppercut. "Something inside me still loves you Raven, but I sure as hell don't know why! I guess Blood's given me two gifts today, cause the rest of me is sure gonna love beating the living snot out of you!"

Faring much better than Raven was Robin, who had used a grappling launcher to soar above the crowd and fire off more disks. The explosions sent half a dozen grunts flying, but several kids dressed as devils started firing off red blasts towards the acrobat. Unfurling his staff, he swiped them aside and took out several more of their friends with helicopter kicks before even landing.

He exploded into a martial arts frenzy, striking ferociously against any target that neared. Somersaulting over one opponent, he threw a bolo to ensnare another while attacking a third with his staff—while still upside-down.

_Robin: "Impressive, ain't I? Sure glad Kory's watchin' this! I've been trainin' a s--load lately to get this good! Y'know, fighting with Bette an' trainin' with the little Robin's sure made me think about how I fight. I can't be the big goofball anymore, not unless I wanna be as useless as Bette!"_

_Starfire: "Dick's fighting sure is impressive! Lately I have been rather upset by all the time he has spent training alone, but I am glad to see something nice result from it! Still, there is something rather…off about this. That is not the Dick Grayson I fell in love with! He is fighting so…_joylessly_! Dick has always been funny and full of life, never this quiet! I…I do not think I like him like this…"_

Suddenly the acrobat was struck from behind by what felt like a pile of tiny wooden feet! Pivoting to see the new threat, he was sure enough faced with a small boy surrounded by several floating wooden puppets! "You've got to be kidding me…"

_Robin: "Hey, do you know how f--ing hard it is to hold the jokes in? If I see some goon looking as stupid as this guy, of _course_ I'm gonna let one slip!"_

"Kidding?" The voice came from one of the mannequins as it and two others launched themselves towards Dick, ensnaring him within the nearly invisible strings attached to their limbs. "Of course we're not! Our master's dream was to be a ventriloquist, but he never had the talent for it! But Brother Blood granted him his wildest desires! Now our master is: The Puppet King!"

Dick burst out laughing, but quickly silenced himself. "Oh, I'm taking you down _hard_ for being so stupid!"

_Robin: "I mean, hey, it's his fault I'm having trouble staying dark!"_

Knives emerged from Robin's gloves as he easily sliced through his bindings and, at the same time, launched a handful of Redbird boomerangs. As the projectiles easily decapitated the King's puppets, Dick knocked their master unconscious with one well placed hook. He smirked victoriously for only a second before somersaulting backwards into the crowd once more.

_Starfire: "I do not understand what is going on! It is obvious Dick _wants_ to be himself, yet he is holding back from speaking! When this is over I _am_ going to find out why!_

_"Still, I was mid-battle, and that was probably a good thing, because I did not have the time to dwell on it!"_

Indeed, the alien princess was battling just as hard as her baffling boyfriend. Green energy exploded around her, scattering the crowd—she followed up with scattershot Starbolts from both hands, further inundating as many opponents as possible.

"Those puny attacks can never stop Adonis!" A massive hulk of a man leapt above an exploding Starbolt, his face covered by a rage-filled expression. Veins and muscles bulged across his overtaxed body as he tackled Koriand'r to the floor. "No matter how much I worked out I could never bulk up before, but now Brother Blood's given me enough muscle to take down anybody!"

In defiance of that statement Kory kicked upwards and rolled, sending Adonis soaring.

_Starfire: "He is at least as strong as I am—fortunately, I am quite used to dealing with ones stronger than myself! After all, I trained with the Warlords of Okaara!"_

Adonis landed on his feet, and the ground beneath him sank into a crater, taking out some of his own teammates! The entire subterranean church rumbled as he charged his extraterrestrial opponent, but she dug her heels into the floor and slapped aside his opening punch like it was nothing!

Focusing all of her solar-powered strength into every blow, Starfire unleashed a flurry of Tamaranian martial arts blows all across the monster's body. She finished with three finger jabs into his neck, and the supposedly unbeatable Adonis fell like a brick!

"All the strength in the world is nothing without the skill to properly use it!" declared the warrior princess.

Unlike Adonis, skill certainly wasn't a problem for Beast Boy, who had been a superhero since he was quite young. However, today Garfield Logan wasn't fighting with his usual finesse, and even the under-confident boy himself noticed it.

_Beast Boy: "I've had off days before, but this takes the cake! I guess I could blame it on bein' shocked about Wally or worried about Vic an' Sarah, but the truth? I killed Madame Rouge because I lost control of my powers! What if it happens again? Ever since that fight I've just been nervous to go all out!"_

Zombie-like students rushed the animal changeling from all sides. He grew into increasingly larger animals, swiping them aside with gorilla arms, bear claws, and the trunk of a green elephant. Still they crowded him, so he escaped beneath their legs as a snake, hoping to escape the feeling of claustrophobia that certainly wasn't helping his current feelings of paranoia.

_Beast Boy: "And there I fall back on my same ol' forms again. Now that I've got TV in the Tower I've been watching so much Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, I know a ton of animals nobody else does. Like the Sydney Funnel Web Spider, ever heard of it? I have. And I'm too nervous to use em in battle…just sticking with gorillas and birds and stuff…I know they work…"_

"Mumbo Jumbo!"

A bolt of magenta lightning struck the ground, and the boy was barely able to take flight as a green bird before the attack changed the ground into a pile of roses. Landing on his haunches in human form just beyond the flowers, Gar saw a blue skinned magician floating above him.

"Let me guess," grumbled the green kid, "You always wanted to be a magician but couldn't even shuffle a deck of cards, then POOF!, Blood makes you one!"

"Quite perceptive!" exclaimed the magician. "Now what do _you_ want to be? A frog? Mumbo Jumbo!"

In a puff of smoke Garfield became a frog, but calmly just shapeshifted back into himself. "Nope."

Growing angry, lightning exploded from Mumbo's wand. "Then how about a platypus?! Mumbo Jumbo!"

Needless to say, Beast Boy was human again in a second. "Dude, this is pointless. I'm Beast Boy. Haven't you watched the show?"

"Fine! I'll just turn you into something that's not an animal! Easy enough! Mumbo—" Mumbo was stopped in his tracks—his target was gone! Suddenly, above him a tiny hummingbird expanded into a mighty green T-Rex, crushing the inept magician beneath his massive foot.

_Beast Boy: "Well that was too easy. Good thing that guy wasn't very creative, or I'd never've been able to take him down the way I feel today! Heh, I guess good thing _do_ happen to me sometimes."_

Brother Blood didn't seem too worried that his pawns were being smacked around so easily. After all, he had true power—the brainwashed students were just time wasters. There were more important challenges at foot!

"Your friends are strong, Mr. Stone," said the madman, looking on at Cyborg's teammates in awe. "I just can't wait until their power is mine!"

_Cyborg: "Blood used to be Sarah's psychology teacher before he got his hands on that cowl, and she said he thinks everybody's screwed in the head somehow! He's determined to prove I am too an' break me, and maybe I can use that to our advantage! If nothin' else I know I got his attention for a while!"_

"You're not _taking_ it!" screamed Vic as his energy shield exploded around him, using the last of its energy to neutralize the sphere the madman had him and Donna trapped in. As Blood staggered backwards the mechanical man landed on his feet and simultaneously fired concussive blasts from the cannons in his chest and missiles from the pods in his shoulders.

Even as Brother Blood was still regaining his footing he fired a blast of crimson that deflected Cyborg's shot, and followed up with a handful of small beams that intercepted his missile storm. Fortunately for the Titan, he had planned for them to be nothing more than a distraction, and was already firing his Sonic Cannon.

Blood disappeared in a flash, zooming into the half-robot and clotheslining him in the chest. "I'm faster than _sound_ now," he taunted as he sent red electricity sizzling through Vic's body.

_Cyborg: "Man was I dumb! Blood's whole reason for lurin' us here was to take our powers, so of course he'd take Wally's when he manipulated him! Well, that scratched physical attacks right off the list of stuff that would work…"_

"Leave him alone!" Wonder Girl knocked aside the former Professor with a fierce two handed swing. Her magic lasso was already tied and whirling through the air, but Blood simply extended his hand and stole the speed from the weapon, leaving it frozen in mid-air.

"Thanks to Mr. West I'm more powerful than the Pope!" bragged Blood as he slapped aside the half-Amazon. Donna sank when she hit the ground, already under the pressure of her attacker's mental influence. "Don't you want to help me too, Ms. Troy? You know what I will grant you in return! I can find the information you can't, y'know, as easy as if I'd just typed it into Google…"

_Cyborg: "What the hell's he talkin' about?"_

_Wonder Girl: "It was so…frightening. Blood, he brought back memories I forgot I had, memories of a happy home and the people I know were my parents! I could feel the warmth and love and a sense of belonging I don't know if I've ever had since, but he kept their faces, all the details really, just out of sight and reach. He wanted me to give into him for those last details, and I really wanted to so, so, so badly. Maybe I can't be mad at Wally for this after all…"_

A sick grin filled Blood's face as Donna started to curl into a ball on the ground, weakening under his assault. "Leave her alone Blood," demanded Cyborg as he leapt into the air, meaning to tackle his rival from behind, "It's me you want!"

"I want _all_ of you, Mr. Stone," chuckled the madman as he shot a blast into the ground, which rose beneath Victor and sent him flying into the ceiling. A few seconds later he hit the ground with a sickening thud, and Blood extended his control to the half-robot as well. "You're simply the only one who poses a challenge!

"See how much she's already given into my control? And Mr. West, why, he wasn't even a fight! But you, Mr. Stone, you're the tough egg to crack! It's been a fun ride, really, but given that your friends will all be under my control in hopefully the next five minutes, it's time to give in already!"

Vic dug his fingers into the ground, but Blood's force of mind was more powerful than ever. "He's not going to give in! Cyborg's too strong for that!" Actually surprised, Blood soared across the room from the full speed impact of Wonder Girl flying into his back.

_Wonder Girl: "It was tough, super tough, but honestly, there was no way I could help out Blood just to learn who my parents are! Maybe I don't know exactly who I am or where I belong, but I know I'm a hero, and that's enough to know I could never live with myself if I gave into Blood!"_

Still, breaking free took a lot out of Donna. She helped pull her teammate to his feet, then slumped, trying to catch her breath. Vic started to panic as he saw Blood easily get back to his feet. "Donna, I don't think you can take another attack from him! Go help Raven, she needs it more than I do!"

This, of course, didn't please Donna Troy. "That's stupid! Blood's the biggest threat! Why do you keep insisting on taking him on alone?!"

"Because he's just after _me_ right now! I'm the only one who can resist his mental attack fully, so he's gonna keep focusin' on me unless the rest of you interfere! If I can take him down than great, but if I can't then at least it'll give you guys the chance to come up with some sorta strategy!"

Donna was speechless.

_Wonder Girl: "Well, there goes the whole Vic grandstanding theory. I don't know if Vic has a death wish or what, but it's pretty touching how he's always willing to put himself on the line to help the rest of us! Hera, and all I was thinking about was not wanting to be pushed out of the spotlight! Maybe _he_ should be leader, not me…"_

"As if it wasn't enough that you wouldn't even _try_ to love me, you weren't even _kind_ about it!" Speed's 'fist', composed of compressed Speed Force energy, shattered as he tagged Raven with a right cross, continuing his merciless beating of his pseudo-romantic interest.

Finally, Raven was able to counterattack, possessing a slab of underground rock and raising it between herself and Wally. The speed specter, still under Blood's influence, simply became intangible and phased through, but by the time he reached the other side, Raven was gone.

"I _had_ to be short with you, Speed." The empath, having teleported across the room, possessed one of the stained glass windows and shattered it, sending dozens of tiny glass shards hurtling towards her opponent. "I told you I could not love anybody, that it was too dangerous for me to feel emotion, but you would not listen, and insisted upon continually badgering me. You left me no choice but to be curt!"

_Raven: "I could feel his anger growing, just like I knew it would. Keeping Speed angry, and thus distracted, was truthfully the only strategy I had. He does not realize it, but he has more raw power than anybody on this team. Due to his emotional difficulties he sticks to his human form, but if Speed wished he could shape his Speed Force shell to any design he desired. However, it is fortunate for us he has not embraced that side of himself, because I can barely hold him back as it is…"_

With one gesture Wally stole the projectiles' speed, leaving the remnants of the window floating before him in mid-air. "No choice? Yeah right! I told you that I could help you work through whatever problems you have, but you wouldn't give me the chance!"

Raven just glared. "That would have been a waste of time. _Nothing_ can stand up to the havoc my unleashed emotions would create."

It was Speed's turn to glare. "God you're a pessimist!"

_Raven: "Considering who that statement came from nearly made me laugh. Considering who _I_ am, that is pretty momentous."_

Seething, Wally thrusted both his arms forward, both returning the shards' speed and reversing their flight in one action. His empathic opponent's cloak billowed around her, absorbing the attacks and redirecting them halfway across the world. Speed had already run twice that far, circling the globe and rushing the back of Raven's head at least at Mach 6.

However, surprising an empath is nearly impossible. As the speed specter grew close, a boulder surrounded by deathly black shot from the ground with perfect aim, shattering his shell. Deflected for the moment, Wally simply reformed his body, even angrier than before, yet, he was smiling!

_Speed: "When we fought Dr. Light and I got shattered like that, it seemed like it took forever to reform myself. With Blood's power it wasn't hard at all!"_

"Perhaps I am a pessimist," continued Raven, "But how _should_ I react when you propose to stop what cannot be stopped? You do not even have the courage to stand up to Brother Blood. Face it, Speed, today you took the coward's way out."

"B--!" Wally exploded forward, but was instantly caught within Raven's Soul Self. As the darkness receded, he was gone. The other Titan took the second's respite to catch her breath.

_Raven: "Goading Speed like that causes him to act predictably, which I can use to my advantage. It is perhaps the only way to combat somebody that fast. Regardless, I teleported him to the bottom of the Dead Sea. That should give me perhaps an extra second. Fortunately, I will be able to sense him coming…"_

_Speed: "Like sending me underwater would buy her any extra time. There were a dozen different ways I could've got out of that, but all of them involved running right back to Raven, and she can sense me coming! So, I decided to try something a little different. Remember how I got into Blood's class by traveling through the Speed Force? Well…"_

A fat red-headed boy leapt toward Robin with a quadruple-bladed lightsaber in his hands—Blood had no doubt granted his deepest desire to be a Jedi. His opponent, however, ducked beneath his weapon and lashed out with a kick to the face, sending the fan-boy flying! As he barreled through the air, suddenly a stream of lightning erupted from the pawn, feeding off his momentum and soaring straight into Raven!

The empath was knocked halfway across the underground church, electricity crackling up and down her body as smoke billowed from her cloak. The energy that had put her in that condition collected at her feet, retaking the form of Wally West.

"Didn't sense that coming, did you b--?" gloated the inhuman Titan. "See, I'm stronger than you think!"

_Raven: "The poor deluded fool…even under all that hatred he still loves me."_

Lying defenseless at Wally's makeshift feet, the dark Titan only had one more idea. Her Soul Self again sprang to life, enveloping the speedster within its dark embrace. Speed found himself floating in a void of endless black, just as Warp had not that long ago.

_Speed: "Well that's something else I can add to my list of my most unpleasant moments…It felt like death in there! I don't know how I know that's what it felt like, I just did! It scared the hell outta me, yet, at the same time there was a feeling of calm, like if I let it, her Soul Self could sort out all my problems. That's just like Raven: scary yet captivating…no wonder I can't keep her off my mind…"_

The empath's voice sounded from the darkness, echoing all around her captive. "Speed, this is not about you and me. That can be resolved later. What we need to address is you and Brother Blood."

Wally was a little disoriented by what he was experiencing, and though he tried to hide it, it was plainly evident in his voice. "He promised me my body back!" he exclaimed, though it was starting to sound unconvincing even to him.

"Why would he?" asked Raven. "You are only an asset to Blood in your current state. Why would he strip you of your usefulness?"

"Because, because…"

"He does not care about you, Speed. If he did, he would not be asking so much in return. If he did, he would have _already_ given you your body back. After all, he already granted his other pawns their wishes. The only difference is that they are more _powerful_ that way."

Though he was technically floating in nothingness, Wally managed to fall to his knees.

_Speed: "I'd never even considered that Blood's promise was just a dupe...I went after his stupid promise like some puppy he could lead around blindly…I just can't believe I didn't notice it until Raven showed me!"_

_Raven: "With Speed under Blood's power there was no way I could influence his emotions directly, but within my Soul Self I was able to provide him with a place more conducive to thought, and provide myself with a more direct path into his head. It was the only way my words could mean anything to him…"_

The black faded, leaving Wally West crumpled before Raven. He sure didn't stay there for long!

"Blood!" The power-hungry man heard his disgruntled servant's cry and batted aside Cyborg to give him his full attention. "Give me my body back, now!"

Blood nearly choked from laughing so hard. "Mr. West, I offered you a gift. It's terribly rude of you to make demands about it!" Suddenly Speed found himself frozen in place—Blood had taken command of the Titan's body!

_Speed: "Raven was right. Dammit, she was right and I couldn't even listen to her! I tried!"_

"Leave him alone!" growled Victor Stone as he charged, but for the umpteenth time he was deflected.

"Save your energy, Mr. Stone. He's not worth your time. The boy hasn't any of the resilience you have."

_Cyborg: "The punk. The last thing I needed was Wally's problems pointed out to me. I was already worryin' 'bout 'em enough as it was!"_

"It doesn't matter!" exclaimed Donna Troy, who stood next to Raven, both in opposition to the merciless dictator. "He's our teammate, and we won't let you have him anymore!"

_Wonder Girl: "Despite everything he did, Wally turned around and talked back to Blood! I don't know his motivation, and truthfully, I don't think I want to. I just know he still deserves to be stood up for!"_

Looking skeptical, Blood asked, "Ms. Troy, didn't I already defeat you and your friend effortlessly? What's changed? How could you possibly defeat me?"

"Now they've got help." Robin landed besides his teammates, and Starfire and Beast Boy quickly followed. Behind them lay dozens and dozens of unconscious bodies!

"Your army has been vanquished!" declared Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran. "Give up!"

"Yeah!" added Gar Logan. "What she said!"

A crimson flame burst to life in each of the ex-professor's palms—he stared the five Titans dead in the eyes and replied with a simple, succinct: "No."

The five Titans collapsed like anvils had been dropped on them, each under Blood's extra-strength mind control. "Just because your friend Mr. West has squandered his gift doesn't mean it still isn't open for you," he offered. "Yes, I know you're all painfully aware that accepting my offer will make you my tools, but won't it be worth it to have all your fondest desires come true?" Blood paused, pondering what he'd just said, then chuckled. "Well, truthfully, it isn't, but by now you're all so far under my control you'll think it is anyway!"

"Enough, Blood!" Cyborg leapt between the villain and his friends. "If you want them, you're goin' through me!"

"Quite noble, Mr. Stone, but all of you are starting to sound like broken records." Blood opened and closed his hand, imitating a gabbing mouth. "Isn't it as plain as the cybernetics on your body that you can't take me on alone?!"

Victor Stone just gritted his teeth. "I can look past my robot half, so I can sure as hell ignore what _you_ say!" The cybernetic teen leapt into the air and fired a net from his hand. "You made this personal when you challenged me and took Sarah!"

"Yes, I knew that would get a rise out of you," replied his opponent drolly. The maniac's eyes glew crimson as he turned to his defeated army. One of the students, though still unconscious, leapt to his feet and intercepted the net!

Only just then did Vic land, using the momentum of his fall backed by his robotic strength to thrust his hands into the ground and rip the floor from beneath Blood! Of course, he still had access to Wally's super speed, and was behind his opponent before he could even finish his attack!

Brother Blood simply backhanded away the metal man. Spinning to face his opponent as he reeled through the air, Victor's hand folded back into a flamethrower and released a potent plume of fire. Blood responded by extending his arms, bringing to life two small spheres of red energy that encircled his feet, whipping up enough of a breeze to extinguish the flames before they could even begin to be of use!

Before he could even ready another weapon he was caught within the shimmering mental attack of Blood's temptation, but for once the half-robot had the upper hand. Thrusting both arms to the side he broke through the attack effortlessly! "C'mon now Blood, you losing your cool? Y'know that ain't gonna work on me!"

"Exactly, Mr. Stone." Blood didn't look amused. "That was merely a reminder for you. I considered you a challenge because of your mental prowess, not your physical!"

Again using his new-found connection to the Speed Force, Brother Blood exploded forward in a crimson streak. Vic frantically countered with a blast from his Sonic Cannon, but by the time the weapon had even fired his opponent had already outran it, sending a devastating uppercut into the mechanical man's stomach. As he skidded backwards, his mechanical eye lit up bright white.

_Cyborg: "When I became a Titan I designed a sorta 'fight simulator' program that would help me anticipate and counter my opponent's moves. I hadn't had much opportunity to use it before, but now sure as hell seems like the time to give it a go!_

_"Then again, I'm pretty much pulling out any weapon I can think of at this point! I've been preparin' this whole time for it to come down to me versus him, yet I still don't have any idea how I'm gonna beat 'im! The only reason he hasn't already fried my circuits or overwritten my brain's 'cause he thinks it's a fun challenge to try t'break my spirit, but even with all the extra time he's givin' me I still can't think of anything!"_

So instead Cyborg just fought on, determined never to give up! His new program actually helped him defend himself briefly—until Brother Blood caught on, that was.

"Heh, stubborn," grinned the professor-turned-megalomaniac as he upped his speed. Blood extended two fingers on each hand and immersed them in sparking energy, jabbing Cyborg with them mercilessly. In the space of one second he'd been turned into Swiss cheese!

Not letting up for even a moment, Blood followed up with two crescent shaped blades of crimson that severed the machine man's arms from his shoulders. Victor screamed, and his cries only grew louder as his opponent sent duel beams through each of his feet, obliterating them!

With no way to support himself, Victor Stone fell flat on his face, totally helpless.

"Arrogance." A sick smile filled the face of the man who had once been Professor Sebastian. "I've finally found it, Mr. Stone! I've found your weak spot, the thorn in your flesh—or I suppose, in this case, the thorn in your promethium! You're arrogant! You've endangered all of your friends because you _had_ to take me on, because you couldn't realize that you had no chance to defeat me! You told yourself you could win and you were _wrong_, Mr. Stone! Dead wrong!"

The air around Cyborg ignited as Brother Blood launched one, final mental attack. "Now that I know how to manipulate you, now that your weakness is out in the open, I'll break you like an egg!"

Victor's screams echoed throughout the underground church.

_Cyborg: "Blood breaking me—that's what I'm afraid of! Still, he's wrong 'bout me bein' arrogant. I'm not tryin' to take him down because I have to prove something or 'cause I think I'm the only one who can—I'm doing it because none of the others can! Who else is gonna step up and fight him right now? What choice to I have?!_

_"Still, that doesn't mean Blood's all wrong! The only way I can fight him is by usin' my head, not my fists—so it's 'bout damn time I started doin' that!"_

Lying under the full mental onslaught of Brother Blood, his body in pieces, Vic gasped for breath. "B-Blood…"

The villain raised an eyebrow. "My. You have something to say, Mr. Stone?"

"I…give…" The metal man looked pained. "C-can't take…anymore…"

A smug, satisfied grin crossed Blood's face, though he tried to act like he felt sorry for the Titan. "Of course. After the fight you put up, I'm sure it hurts more than a root canal without anesthesia! I'll just—"

"But…" Cyborg interrupted his soon-to-be benefactor. "N-not like…Wally…Make it…f-fast…"

For once, Blood seemed truly touched. "Yes, a valid concern. I know I've delayed with the gifts for Mr. West and several more of my students, and I have my reasons for that. Still, Mr. Stone, you've been a brave and worthy opponent, and a most amusing experiment. For that alone, I shall grant you your fondest desire—_right now_."

_Cyborg: "Pefect."_

Brother Blood thrust his arms to the side, and his cloak billowed behind him as a storm of stolen mental energy brewed around his body like a tornado. The mental field around Cyborg changed into a soft glowing light, slowly overtaking the Titan and the rest of the room.

So far, all that was normal. Everything afterwards _wasn't_.

In a flash of crimson Blood's suit and cloak disappeared, reverting him to the tacky yesteryear stylings of Professor Sebastian. The attacks on the other Titans eased, allowing them to groggily climb to their feet. The new personas, disguises and weapons of the madman's brainwashed students faded away, returning them to their previous appearance.

However, the most miraculous events were happening to Victor Stone himself. Still shining, his body floated into the air, and the destroyed and dislodged parts of his robotic body hovered around him, all blending together until the light faded, revealing a reassembled Cyborg, good as new!

"What?!" Blood's eyes bulged from his forehead. He thrusted both his hands forward, but nothing happened. No energy attacks, no mental fields, not even a tiny spark of red. The former-powerhouse only had time to utter, "Uh-oh."

Then Vic's foot landed upside his head.

Cyborg instantly followed up with a double-handed spike that sent Blood hurtling face-first into the floor. He bounced, and Victor used the opportunity to get in close and deliver an uppercut to the stunned man's stomach. Blood soared into the air, leaving a trail of blood leaking from his open mouth, but Cyborg's rocket-propelled hand retrieved the man and pulled him back in close.

One last right cross was all it took. The Blood Cowl soared off Sebastian's head and landed with a thud—Sebastian himself span like a top and landed on his back. He was too beat to move, even to speak, but his eyes were wide open. He wasn't blinking, just staring intently at Cyborg. Those eyes asked a question as plainly as if they had a voice of their own: _"How?!"_

Picking up the cowl, Vic smiled. "Don't get too confused there. You did grant me my fondest desire, you didn't do anything wrong there." Pausing for a second, the Titan chuckled. "It's just, well, you weren't payin' enough attention earlier! I told you the _first_ time we fought: All I _want_ is to save Sarah and stop you!

"So, y'know, thanks for helpin' me out there."

Those words were like a final punch, and Sebastian fell into unconsciousness, a look of shock still pasted across his face.

_Cyborg: "Well, that was pretty risky. I hoped Blood's powers would grant my wish before they took my mind, but that's it, it was just hope. I had no evidence it would or anything! Fortunately, it all worked out. Ain't it great when that happens?"_

Tossing the cowl to himself, Vic mused, "Now all that's left is to figure out what we're gonna do with this thing."

"Give it to me." Raven appeared beside her triumphant teammate, her dark cloak moving like it was alive. "Only the Monks of Azarath are properly equipped to dispose of that weapon—I will bring it to them." Shrugging, Vic hesitantly handed it over.

_Cyborg: "I sure hope that was the right thing to do…"_

_Raven: "The Blood Cowl is too dangerous to even leave in the hands of the other Titans or the authorities. My home is the _only_ place where its corrupting influence can be overcome."_

"Vic!" Suddenly the half-robot was tackled to the ground by an overenthusiastic Tamaranian. "That was amazing! I am so overjoyed that you were victorious!"

"Yeah," strained Vic, "I'm glad you beat up those brainwashed kids too." Looking up from the ground, he was reminded of his prime motivation for fighting: tied to a statue of Blood was his girlfriend, Sarah Simms! "Hey Kory, y'think you can go…"

"Already on it!" Two well-placed Starbolts freed the student from her bonds, and Starfire quickly laid her in her boyfriend's arms.

That was about all it took to rouse her. "Vic?" There was no place Sarah'd rather be than in Victor Stone's arms, and she instantly pulled him close and squeezed him tight. "You won!"

"You bet," smiled Vic. "There's no way I'd let you down."

"Then you better tell me all about it as soon as we get outta here." Sarah noticed for the first time the gigantic underground church they were in. "Wow, this is under my school? S--, no wonder our tuition's so high!" Next she noticed all the unconscious bodies, including that of Professor Sebastian as well. "Still, I guess all's well that ends well."

"Y'think?" Agitated, Wally West was just a blur despite standing still. "It never ends well for _me_! Vic saves the day, but god, I blew it! I nearly damned the whole world just to get my body back, and I didn't even realize I was being shafted all along!" Bursting forward, he shattered his makeshift fist against the wall. "Stupid stupid stupid!"

_Speed: "I don't care about being a hero, but what else am I supposed to be like this?! I don't even know where I can go anymore! There's no place for me! I just wanna run off into the Speed Force and let myself fade away, and not deal with all this anymore…but I don't think I can…I can't do that to Aunt Iris, and even after everything that's happened, I don't think I can give up on Raven yet either…"_

Surprisingly, it was Wonder Girl who came to the speed specter's aid. "Wally, it's _okay_. You came through in the end!" Sighing, Donna lowered her head. "Nobody can blame you for giving in to Blood's offer. I know I nearly did myself!"

"Indeed," added Starfire. "Wally, you should not be so hard on yourself."

"I…I…" Wally West wanted to believe the girls, but he just didn't know if he could anymore. He didn't know _what_ to believe anymore, other than this was making his head hurt! "I just have to get outta here and think!"

A Sonic Boom cracked the walls, and Speed left only a trail of dust to remember him by.

_Speed: "I'm at my rope's end. When things are this bad, there's only one person I can turn to. I just hope she has something to say that'll help me…"_

"Well," marveled Gar Logan as he stared at the trail his lightspeed teammate left. "Y'think he'll come back this time?"

"I sure hope so," sighed Victor Stone. Suddenly, Donna's hand was on his shoulder.

Whatever was on her mind, she certainly didn't look happy. "Can I have a word with Vic?"

Gar shrugged. "I dunno—can you?"

Vic smacked the kid on the back and turned to his girlfriend. "I'll be back in a minute, babe."

"You'd better be," Sarah said with a wink.

_Wonder Girl: "Hera, this was the last thing I wanted to be doing. I was mad, no, furious at Vic for taking control of the team before we fought Blood, but now I don't know if we'd have even_ survived_ without him leading us. As much as I hate the idea of it, I think it might be best for the Titans if I turn over leadership to him…"_

_Cyborg: "I knew what Donna wanted, and I was dreadin' it. I was a jerk and just took over without even considerin' her feelings, and I nearly screwed up the entire thing. I better hope she'll take an apology…"_

Before the leader could even speak, the half-machine jump-started the conversation. "Look Donna, I'm sorry I pushed you outta the leader role like that. I really wasn't thinkin' straight, y'know? All I cared about was Sarah and Blood, and I took the whole thing way too personally. You know how close I came to blowin' the whole thing?"

Donna actually burst out laughing. "Vic, I was going to recommend that _you_ take over as Team Leader! You…you actually did a lot better than I ever could've. You were the only one who kept your cool."

"If I'dve kept my cool I'd never've taken over from you in the first place," interjected Cyborg. "Look, I appreciate the offer, but if I learned anything from fightin' Blood, it's to know my weaknesses, and I know I'm not cut out to be leader. I _worry_ about you guys too much! A good leader needs to know how to delegate and let their team fend for themselves, and I can't do that. You saw me out there, I'dve taken on that entire army just to keep you guys safe from it!"

The half-Amazon still looked unsure, so Victor continued. "Donna, you know I've had your back with the whole leader thing from the start, but now even all the others take your orders! I've always thought you had potential, and I still feel the same way. I know bein' leader's not my thing, but I know it could be for you with more practice. _You_ stay leader."

Donna Troy's face beamed.

_Wonder Girl: "I don't know if anybody's ever said anything that made me feel better! Good ol' Vic…maybe he's right, maybe he's not cut out to be a leader, but we'd still be lost without him!"_

_Cyborg: "I meant what I said to Donna, too. Every word of it. I do think she could be a great leader. But not everybody's cut out to be a leader, or even a _hero_ for that matter. Hell, just look at Wally!_

_"I've always said that Wally reminded me of myself right after my accident. I've been pushin' the kid down the path towards bein' a hero thinking it would help 'im like it did me, but obviously Wally's not me. He ain't gonna cope with it that way—but it don't mean I can't help him! I'm just gonna have to find a new way to do it!"_

**LATE THAT NIGHT—CYBORG'S WORKSHIP, TITANS TOWER**

High up in the T-Shaped tower that housed the Teen Titans, five of the teenaged heroes slept like babies, utterly exhausted from the Brother Blood ordeal. Several stories below, however, sat Victor Stone, busy typing lines of code and soldering together tiny components. Though he had taken the most abuse of all the Titans, just a few hours spent plugged in had recharged his batteries.

Pausing for a second, Vic looked towards the blinking clock and grumbled, "Where is he?!"

_Cyborg: "Wally needs help, we all know that. Like I said though, my kinda help really wasn't workin' that well. So, I figured out a way that'll _definitely_ get the kid out of his funk! Problem is, I need some help myself to pull it off! I just wish he'd show up already!"_

Suddenly a man appeared behind him, a scarlet streak that skidded to an abrupt stop. "Sorry I'm late," meekly chuckled the speedster, the fastest man alive, the Flash! "Bad habit of mine."

"No problem man, forget about it." The Flash was secretly Barry Allen, the uncle of Wally West, but that wasn't a secret Cyborg was privy to. He just knew the Flash cared for Wally _and_ had the information on the Speed Force he needed!

"Thanks for helping me like this," continued Barry. "It's hard to find a lab like this where somebody actually has the time and the money to help me!"

"Well," smiled Vic, "_I_ sure do! So, let's get to it!

"Let's figure out how to get Wally his body back!"

**OFF THE AIR—LOREN JUPITER'S OFFICE. EVEN LATER STILL**

Mr. Loren Jupiter, the man in charge of all things even _slightly_ related to the Teen Titans, was used to clandestine meetings and immoral dealings. Together with his secretary, Ms. Lilith Clay, he managed contacts of every sort, all across the globe!

However, even Ms. Clay was unaware of one of Jupiter's associates, perhaps his most important. The information was too sensitive even for her!

"Jupiter." The director span in his chair to face his guest: the Teen Titan Raven! "Everything worked out as we had planned—better, truthfully."

"I know, I was watching," grinned Jupiter. "I was most impressed at how you played our friend Wally."

"At this point he practically does it to himself," replied the empath. "I was more grateful for Blood targeting Cyborg the way he did. That certainly worked to our advantage."

"Yes, but still, it never would've worked at all without your information."

"I know. I was not aware of who currently possessed the Cowl of Blood, but whoever it was, I knew he would be unable to resist the bait of our public superhero team."

"So," Jupiter asked as he leaned over his desk, "Do you have it?"

"Of course." Raven's cloak blew open, and the Cowl of Blood emerged, landing on Jupiter's desk. Beaming, the director pulled it onto his head. Instantly his eyes lit up, glowing a fierce shade of red.

"Perfect."

Next time: POV: Deathstroke


	17. POV: Deathstroke

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans, as well as Deathstroke, were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans, as well as Deathstroke, were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. I owe my inspiration to them, as well as to the talented staff of the Teen Titans animated series and the superb voice acting of Ron Perlman, whose voice I try to hear speaking every single line I write for Slade.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 17: POV: Deathstroke**

**ROLE CALL:**

**Deathstroke—**Slade Wilson: The deadliest mercenary alive, cruel and emotionless, capable of tapping into 90 of his brain's capacity.

**OFF THE AIR—BELLE REVE METAHUMAN PENITENTIARY. LOUISIANA, USA**

Belle Reve is a country club.

None of the other prisoners would call it that, but I'm sure none of them have ever spent time in a Vietcong POW camp either. Compared to one of them, Belle Reve is the lap of luxury. Once again, the American justice system is too lenient. That will be their final mistake—they _should_ have executed me.

After all, this place can't hold Deathstroke.

That's me. Deathstroke, the deadliest mercenary alive. Slade Wilson's my civilian name, but _Deathstroke_, that's the name people fear. I even make the Justice League quake in their boots—or, at least, I _did_. Prison doesn't do much for a mercenary's reputation. Several hundred flawless kills on my resume, and they'll focus on my one loss. Ingrates.

What's most infuriating is that I could have won had I kept my head on straight. If I hadn't followed Jupiter's ridiculous scheme and just killed his team from the start. Instead I was defeated by a group of amateur teenaged capes—on _cable television_, nonetheless.

That's pretty hard to live down, but if anybody can do it, I can. Reputations can be salvaged. Any who refuse to hire me can be eliminated, as can any assassins with a better record than I. Plus, there's the revenge: Since I've come here I've _lived_ for the thought of revenge, for the moment where I send a bullet through Loren Jupiter's skull.

Or perhaps I'll do it more slowly, like slitting his throat, or suffocating him. I've had so long to create scenarios, I've yet to decide which would be most fulfilling.

Of course, first I must attend to the matter of breaking out of here. Fortunately for me, I'm not alone.

And I never have been.

The only person I ever cared for as a child was my father. He was a hunter, and he took me with him on all his trips. By the age of five I was as proficient as he was. Hunting, _killing_, it's in my blood.

However, my father foolishly gave me access to all my weapons. He trusted me to use them safely and wisely.

Trusting me. I do believe everyone who has ever done that came to regret their decision.

While he was at work I would take his guns and hunt animals in the woods behind our house. Sometime I would hunt strays that wandered on our property, and eventually I even started tracking down the ones that had owners. It was frustratingly simple, even back then, but it was as close to the thrill of the hunt as I could get on my own.

One day a neighbor boy—Henry Haskall—saw me killing another neighbor's cat. He intended to…"tell on me"—and my argument that if the hag cared for the creature, she wouldn't have let it run free didn't change his mind. I could not allow that—had my parents found out, I would have lost access to the guns. I _could not_ have that.

So, I did the only thing I could. I killed Henry. He shouldn't have provoked someone holding a loaded weapon.

A lesson learned too late.

I hid the boy's body in my father's shed, where he kept his guns. I wiped the murder weapon clean of all fingerprints. Don't think me a fool—I knew the cops would find the body.

I just didn't want any evidence leading back to _me_.

Instead, it was my father who paid for my crime. It was a shame, really. I missed our hunting trips. Still, it was a necessary sacrifice. As the cops hauled my father away, he looked me straight in the eyes. He had figured out what I'd done, and he was horrified.

Eventually my father was executed for his "crimes", making him and Henry my first human victims. However, they would be far from the last. It's just like they say: Once you first taste blood, you can never get enough.

My life was empty after that—perhaps it was the only time I actually _was_ alone. My mother destroyed all of my father's weapons and forbade me to ever use a gun again. As far as she was concerned, guns had destroyed her life—once I became Deathstroke, I made sure that this was truly, literally the case.

I was an empty husk of a man until a military recruiter visited my school when I was fifteen. America was in the midst of the Vietnam War, and was doing whatever it could to retain the military's popularity. They certainly caught _my_ attention. After all, where else could I get paid to kill to my heart's desire?

So, that night I ran away to join the military. Fortunately, I had worked out all my life—obsessively since my father was arrested—and was in peak physical condition. By the time my age was discovered, I had already been promoted several times and had proven myself too invaluable to lose.

Funny how quickly the government will ignore a crime if it's in their best interest.

I hadn't been in the military long before I met an old soldier named Major William Wintergreen. The military was getting ready to retire him from the field, and he wasn't happy about it. His first "office" assignment—training me—just made it worse. I mastered every killing art he taught me effortlessly—at first he was jealous of my skill, my youth, my future, but soon his envy gave way to respect.

Still, when given the chance for one last field mission, Wintergreen didn't hesitate for a second. Unfortunately, he was captured by the Cong in an ambush. Perhaps the best decision of my life was the one to rescue him. Wintergreen was so grateful, and in such awe of my skill, that he vowed to always serve at my side from then on.

He's the best asset I've ever had.

After the war the military still had much use for me, sending me on countless missions where an ordinary display of military force just wouldn't do. I never let them down.

In the meantime, I met a fellow soldier named Adeline Kane. I tried to avoid her, but she fell for me the second she laid eyes on me.

Can't say I blame her.

I found myself spending more and more time with Adeline. She was a strong woman, and very attractive. If I'm even capable of loving someone, she's the closest I've ever come.

The government, meanwhile, had created a serum they hoped would produce a super soldier: a human weapon with massive strength, superb reflexes, and the ability to use 90 of his brain. Of course, I was their first choice for a test subject, and how could I turn down an opportunity to become a better killer?

It was a resounding success—I became more lethal than I could have ever imagined. I was so lethal, in fact, that the military began to fear me. They claimed that the serum had made me callous and had robbed me of my empathy.

What they failed to realize was that I had _always_ been that way.

Regardless, I was discharged, the official records using my renegade rescue mission of Wintergreen years previously as an excuse. To say I was angry would have been an understatement, but I wasn't going to let it hold me back. Slade Wilson, to the public, became a famous big game hunter—however, that was merely smoke and mirrors, a way to hide my _true_ new vocation: mercenary for hire.

That was how Deathstroke was born.

The money I was pulling in allowed me to live lavishly. Wintergreen and I bought a mansion, and Adeline moved in a few weeks later. It wasn't long before we were married: truly a testament to the almost supernatural power that woman held over me. She soon bore me a son, Joseph, and a daughter, Rose.

Without a doubt, this was the happiest part of my life. I had a family that adored me, more money than I ever thought possible, and the freedom to act up on my darker needs as Deathstroke. Life was perfect, but I had forgotten one essential rule:

A mercenary can't have a heart.

One of my employers hired me to dispose of several very highly ranked officers of a terrorist called the Jackal. The bastard somehow figured out who I was and attacked my family, kidnapping Joe. Adeline was still unaware of my dual life at Deathstroke at the time, which was further proof that, despite loving me, she never truly _knew_ me.

Obviously, she didn't take the news well, and things became worse when we met with the Jackal. He threatened to slit Joe's throat if I didn't turn myself in. I care for my son, but I couldn't ruin my professional standing.

On that day I made a rare mistake. I killed Jackal and his associates in seconds, but I still wasn't fast enough. Joseph wasn't dead, but his vocal cords were completely severed.

He's been mute, unable to speak a single word, ever since.

Adeline was furious. She filed for divorce, attempting to take my money _and_ my kids. No matter what my feelings for the woman were, that was _unacceptable._

However, she beat me to the punch.

At one of our meetings she pulled a gun and tried to kill me—she was so angry that even the divorce wasn't enough anymore. Normally I could have dodged the shot easily, but that day I was actually taken by surprise. I _never_ thought Adeline would go that far. Still, my heightened reflexes allowed me to escape the fatal shot.

She shot out my right eye, and I blew her brains out. I much preferred that to a divorce.

Instead of weakening my resolve, losing my eye only emboldened me. I changed my mask to make sure _everybody_ knew I only had one eye. After all, what's more frightening than a killer so confident in his abilities that he shows his opponents' his handicaps?

Still, there were complications: Joseph and Rose. Despite abandoning the name Slade Wilson and my mansion and instead buying multiple properties under different aliases, I still wanted my children to be fighters. I _never_ wanted the Jackal incident to repeat itself.

Wintergreen largely raised the kids, but fighting was something _I_ was going to handle. However, they resisted the training, especially Joe, who hated violence. My patience was reaching its limit when I discovered the kids'…abilities. That's when I realized they were more than my kids: they were _invaluable_ fighting assets. I _had_ to have them fighting at my side.

So Wintergreen and I concocted a mind control serum.

There were problems at first—it wasn't easy to perfect. The constant changes in the formula and dosage especially took a toll on Rose, and even my finalized version has limits—however, it has allowed Deathstroke to be more effective than ever before, fighting with my children at my side.

Of course, that's not to say everything's been perfect.

Before my run-in with the Titans, I was hired by a low-level politician to assassinate the Mayor of Star City, Oliver Queen. As I followed Queen, learning his habits and planning the kill, I discovered his deepest secret: Queen was secretly the vigilante Green Arrow.

Needless to say, that little tidbit spelled political ruin for Queen, and delighted my employer. However, it also brought me to the attention of Queen's buddies in the Justice League.

I barely escaped with my life.

I don't fear capes, but I do respect them. Their powers often make even mine pale in comparison. When the League targeted me, it took every trick I'd ever learned, all 90 of my boosted brain power, all of my enhanced speed and strength, and nearly ever contact I'd ever made, and I still only escaped by a hair.

Outfoxing the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman and the Flash certainly boosted my reputation, but it wasn't worth the pain. I vowed I'd _never_ let myself get involved with capes again.

That just makes the Titan situation all the _more_ infuriating.

I still don't know exactly why I took Jupiter's offer. Yes, the ungodly amount of money he offered was incredibly tempting, as was his giving me the brain-dead body of Dr. Light as a weapon. But that shouldn't have been enough.

Still, it doesn't matter anymore. Soon, Jupiter will be dead. The Teen Titans will be humiliated. Every last remainder of their existence will be annihilated.

Of course, first I still have to break out of Belle Reve.

This is where we come back to why I'm so fortunate to have allies…

It only took me a couple of days to memorize the guard rotation at Belle Reve, an essential bit of information no matter how I planned to escape. Finally, weeks later, I heard what I was waiting for: a guard was making his rounds past my room, but not at his scheduled time.

"We're moving you to a cell with tighter security," said the guard as he entered my room. I got to my feet, and the guard curled two of his fingers in the shape of the letter "J" and smiled slightly.

It was Jericho's sign.

I followed him down several hallways, and I recognized where he was taking me: towards the East side of the prison, where it only had one story. That _was_ the easiest way to smuggle me out, I suppose…though the path out also intersected with a patrol route.

Sure enough, we soon crossed paths with a patrol guard. Joe played it like the professional I trained him to be, nodding as their eyes met and never once looking nervous or conspicuous.

So what happened next wasn't his fault at all.

"Wait a minute," muttered the other guard as he noticed me and realized one of the most dangerous inmates was walking free, "Deathstroke ain't s'posed to be outta his cell!"

"How observant of you," I quipped as I leapt and struck the fool in the temple, killing him instantly. Unfortunately, he'd triggered his alert button before I'd hit, summoning all the guards he could.

Or perhaps it wasn't _that_ unfortunate. I would need to hold myself over until I could get my hands on Jupiter, and this was as good a workout as any.

"I'm assuming you've got a plan, right?"

"Of course," said Joe with a smirk as he pressed a button on his belt. I recognized that design—it controlled my stealth ship.

A good plan indeed.

I have to give the guards at Belle Reve credit—they were more prepared than I expected. I only a few seconds a line of guards appeared at each end of the hallway, each with a rifle aimed for my head.

They didn't stand a chance.

With my heightened reflexes its child's play to dodge bullets. Barely breaking a sweat I rolled beneath the first wave and took the gun from the guard I'd already killed, and with several well-placed shots I upped the death-toll.

Ah, it felt good to use a gun again. The weight, the feel, the _power_—guns are intoxicating, better than drugs, better than sex.

Unfortunately, my son doesn't share my passion. As usual, Joe had his own way of doing things. Making eye contact with one of our attackers, his astral form leapt from the guard who had freed me into his new host. His friends didn't know what hit them as Joe took control of the guard's body and lashed out with a flawless stream of martial arts strikes.

You see, both my children were conceived after I had taken the Super Soldier serum. Just as it changed and enhanced my body, it did the same for my kids. Joe—codenamed Jericho—is a body-jumper. He has the ability to take control of somebody just by making eye-contact with them. It is also the only time he can speak—through the vocal cords of others.

Joe's always been smart, reliable, and athletic, but to my dismay he was never a fighter. He preferred art and music. With the help of my mind control serum I've turned the boy into a perfect fighter, but there are still some things not even mind control can force. He still won't pick up a gun, and he won't kill.

Regardless, this has never gotten in the way of Joe completing a mission. And in a way, I can respect convictions so strong that not even _I_ can change them. Joe's a good soldier.

His sister, on the other hand…

Suddenly, the roof exploded. Concrete fell and the floor shook, and I took advantage of the distraction and threw several of the guards into the rubble's path. That no doubt saved me some ammo.

"And here comes the cavalry!" A long rope ladder had been lowered through the hole—my daughter, Rose, had been hanging on, and she wasted no time in attacking. She struck several guards with shuriken as she somersaulted to the floor. The last two standing guards, likely wetting themselves at the sight of her, fired their weapons wildly.

As high as taxes are, you think the government could afford to hire better shots.

Rose's codename is Ravager, for…obvious reasons. She dodged the gunfire, knowing where it was going to hit, deflecting a bullet with one of her two swords and then turning the weapons on the guards.

Dismembered limbs and blood flew blindly as Rose tore into them enthusiastically. She's the exact opposite of her brother. Rose took after me, loving violence. She was always wild, and as I said, problems with the mind control serum made it worse. In a fit of insanity she even put out her own eye, just to be more like her dear old dad.

If not for her precognition I wouldn't even use her in the field. Rose can see the future, and the more adrenaline that flows through her veins, the more controllable and accurate her visions become. In a fight, she's virtually untouchable.

Rose is like a mad dog: I point her towards a target, and she shreds it to pieces.

"Come on you guys! Let's get outta here!" Joe had done his job well, and only his host remained standing. That didn't last for long as his physical body appeared behind the guard, and my son knocked him out cold with a well-placed strike to the neck.

"Didn't we do great, dad?" Rose and Joe both looked up at me with giant eyes, waiting for praise. Annoying to be sure, but it certainly kept them under control—the mind control serum kept them _addicted_ to my approval.

"Yes, my dear," I told her, "You did fine." It wasn't a lie. Yes, the rescue was a tad theatrical, but it got the job done. Perhaps even more importantly, this left not only Belle Reve, but every law enforcement officer in the country one essential message:

Nobody screws with Deathstroke.

"Slade, it's good to see you again, sir. Home just isn't home without you." Wintergreen, my most trusted ally, eternally indebted to me. He's never left my side. No doubt he helped organize the rescue.

He greeted us as we climbed aboard my stealth ship, a slim black hover-vehicle meant to be fast and silent, to get me the hell away from my targets as fast as it can. I don't need some sports car to stroke my ego, after all. I already know I'm the best.

"Good to see you too, Wintergreen," I replied as I looked over my ship. It felt good to be free. "I'm pleased to see you kept up with the kids'…treatments while I was away."

"Of course. I couldn't have freed you without them."

Joe sat in the pilot's seat and we became a blur, leaving Belle Reve as just a memory. "Where to now, Dad?" asked Rose, no doubt eager for a mission. After all, it _had_ been a while since she'd been able to fight somebody. It was the same for me, truthfully.

"First, we stop at home. I need a change of clothes. Then, well…I'm sure you can guess what comes next."

Indeed, I didn't need to spell it out. Rose cheered. Wintergreen smiled. Even Joe looked pleased. They all want a piece of Jupiter and the Titans as badly as I do. Humiliate one member of the Wilson family, you humiliate us _all_.

So I will kill Loren Jupiter. I will destroy the Titans. I will do it with my family at my side. My name is Slade Wilson, and I am Deathstroke, the deadliest mercenary alive. I love to kill, and I love my job. I'm the best at what I do, and anybody who knows my name fears me.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

Next time: Tangled Web


	18. Tangled Web

OOC: Sorry this took so long, guys! I've had a ton of stuff going on, but things are settling down now, so we should be back on a monthly schedule. Still, despite missing a chapter in October, I got you two in September, so hopefully it all evens out. Anyway, I appreciate all of you readers sticking around, and I hope you enjoy what's to come—I've waited a long time to write this arc!

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and are owned by DC Comics.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 18: Tangled Web**

**ROLE CALL:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

*****ON THE AIR—CARDY CAFÉ, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

Donna Troy doesn't know who she is.

Okay, maybe that's not wholly accurate. She knows who she _is_: she's Wonder Girl! What she doesn't know is who she was before Wonder Woman rescued her from a burning building as a toddler. The mighty princess took the child back to Themyscira, mythical home of the Amazons, where she was raised as one of their own.

Growing up on that magical island, the girl was surrounded by loving sisters, and was even granted some of their mighty power. However, something always felt…off. Despite it all, Donna was still human, and she wanted to explore that part of her life as well—and even more importantly, she wanted to find out where it was she came from. Who she was _before_ she became Donna Troy.

So, with the blessing of her Amazonian sisters and the assistance of Wonder Woman, Donna came to Man's World, becoming the super-hero Wonder Girl. And, while she has yet to find out the truth behind her origins, she _has_ found something else that was just as sorely missing from her life:

_Love_.

_Wonder Girl: "The first man I ever met was Superman. Now, while Themyscira isn't an island of man-haters like most people think, men were still foreign to me. Superman, he helped me warm up to men immediately. Not only was meeting him inspiring, but he was warm and comforting as well._

_"But standing right behind him was this cute boy that _really_ caught my attention: Kyle Rayner, the Green Lantern. _He_ was the first man I ever really _knew_. He would always take the time to explain the world to me and make me feel wanted and special. Looking back on it, though, I suppose I was boosting his ego as much as he was mine._

_"I mean, don't get me wrong, I still care about Kyle. He'll always be one of my best friends. But, our relationship is starting to feel like…kid's stuff. Plus, he's never here anymore! I know being a Green Lantern means being away from home a lot, but if that's how he's going to have to live the rest of his life, then maybe he's better off without a girlfriend…"_

Miss Troy, not wearing her costume but, instead, a much more causal outfit, sat at an outdoor table at Cardy Café, the quaint restaurant that had become the regular meeting place for her and her new beau, Terry Long. Mr. Long, an aspiring history student and gofer on _'The Real World: Titans Tower'_ set, had slowly but surely been winning over the heart of his long-time crush.

_Wonder Girl: "When Terry first approached me back in Jupiter's office, I was less than enthused. He came off as…well…stalker-ish, for lack of a better word. But, it was a different kind of stalker-ish than, say, Dick. Terry really cares about me! That's not to say that Kyle doesn't, but I mean, Terry asks me questions about myself, about my past too. Kyle loves to talk about himself. Terry and I, we have _real_ conversations._

_"So despite the slow start, I think I finally know how I feel about Terry Long. So, why should I wait to tell him?"_

"Donna? You okay?" Terry was half-way across the table, staring intently at his girlfriend. "You sure seem distracted today!"

The adopted Amazon blushed slightly. "Sorry, I guess I have been a little distracted. There's a lot on my mind."

"So…" The red-head waited for a second, and with no answer, ventured, "Are you gonna tell me about it?" Chuckling, he continued, "I mean, we can talk about your meeting the Greek Gods or my overbearing mother any day, so we might as well figure out what's wrong with you now."

"Fine, fine," conceded Wonder Girl. Resting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands, she met the gofer's stare with one just as resolute. "I'm sure you realized how I wasn't exactly…eager to go out with you at first."

"Nooooooooooooooooooooo!" drawled Terry sarcastically. They both laughed, and he continued, "Seriously Donna, I know what a doof I am. Ya kinda get used to it after a while. I wasn't gonna let it get in the way of meeting you…"

Smiling, Donna interjected, "And that's just it. Your…'doofiness', it's, well, _adorable._ I've had the "macho man", Terry, and I'm ready for something different. You listen to me, treat me more like a person than an object or an ego-boost. Everybody won't look at you and think you're a prize like they have Kyle, but I don't need them to. You're _my_ prize.

"As for Kyle, I'm not sure what I'm going to say to him yet. But what I do know is that, well…I love you, Terry. And I'm not going to hide it or you anymore!"

Terry Long looked like he'd been shot, or as if he'd had a heart attack.

_Wonder Girl: "Okay, not exactly the reaction I expected, but then again, why wouldn't Terry be taken by surprise? I'd never even really called him my boyfriend before this, but as much as we've been talking lately, wouldn't he have figured it out?"_

"Wow." Terry was still stunned. "Just…_wow_ Donna, that's…awesome. I, I don't know what to say." Donna was starting to look a little agitated, ready to tell him what he _should_ be saying, when the student pulled out his phone. "Oh s---, the studio needs me! Donna, I'm sorry, looks like we're still not gonna be able to make it through a full date. I promise, we'll talk about this later tonight."

"How about you come by the tower?" suggested the Titan. "We can talk more, and then I can introduce you to the other Titans."

_Wonder Girl: "What, surprised? I hid Terry from the Titans because I didn't want them thinking I was cheating on Kyle and giving me a hard time, and then, once things got more serious, because I wasn't sure what I was going to _do_ about Kyle. But now, like I said, I'm not going to hide him anymore! Besides, Dick already knows about Terry and has actually been reasonable about it! If _he_ can handle this, then there's no excuse for the others not to!" _

"Sure," smiled Terry. "Sounds great." He kissed his girl on the cheek and ran off, but somehow, Donna Troy wasn't feeling it.

_Wonder Girl: "I don't get it! Hera, I thought he'd be thrilled as much as he pursued me to begin with! But I guess it isn't his fault, after all, his phone call is what stopped me from finding out what he really thought, and as much as I've done that to him lately, I can't be mad._

_"Oh well, there's still tonight. I know everything will work out then. It's going to be wonderful."_

*****OFF THE AIR—LOREN JUPITER'S OFFICE*****

Mr. Loren Jupiter, the man behind _'The Real World: Titans Tower'_, sat at his desk, nearly buried beneath a mountain of papers. He leafed through several booklets as villain profiles flashed by on his computer screen at a furious pace. He needed a new enemy for the Titans to fight, and _bad_.

"Mr. Jupiter?" The voice of the fashion disaster's secretary, Ms. Lilith Clay, suddenly sounded from his phone.

Growling, he responded, "Ms. Clay, unless you have located a new enemy for my Titans to fight, I suggest you follow my wishes and leave me be. All I need is one more significant threat to drive ratings through the _roof_, then I can—"

"It's _Terry Long_, Mr. Jupiter," interjected the red-head. "He wants to speak to you."

A grin covered the man's face. He shouldn't have doubted her—Ms. Clay always knew what he wanted to hear, after all. "Ah, I see. I'm sorry, Ms. Clay—please, please, send him right in!"

The door slowly opened as Terry Long crept into the office. His head hung slightly, like he didn't want to make eye contact with his boss.

"Hello, Mr. Long!" Grinning, Jupiter leaned over his desk and leered at the boy. "What brings you to my office today?"

"Donna told me she loved me." He still didn't look pleased. _Jupiter_, though…

"Perfect." Pleased beyond all belief, the director clasped his hands. "Why the long face, Mr. Long? You've done what you set out to. And, as I promised, you'll receive your reward."

Terry still didn't budge. "I feel like a heel. Y'know, at first this was a dream come true. You offered to pay for my college tuition completely if I'd make Donna Troy fall in love with me. An offer like that doesn't come around every day, and I sat there thinking, why me?"

"Because you fit the profile perfectly," interjected Jupiter. "You were exactly what she was looking for, but didn't realize herself."

"Plus," continued Terry Long, "I'd seen the first episode working on the set, and Donna came across as a real bitch. I figured she could use some heartache. She was the kinda girl that always broke the hearts of guys like me. But…"

"But?" 

"But I was wrong. Donna's got issues, yeah, but I've seen a side of her most

people haven't. She's kind and smart and despite it all, she wants to do the right thing, no matter what. She told me she loved me, and what's scary is, I think I love her too."

Jupiter chuckled. "So what you're trying to say is…"

"I can't do this to her." Terry Long had never been bold, never been popular, never stood up for what he believed in. Today, he aimed to change all that—nothing had ever motivated him the way Donna did. Emboldened, he got to his feet, leaned over the other side of the desk, and stared Jupiter straight in the eye. "So either you tell her what's going on, or I will."

Despite the threat, the boy's boss wasn't even slightly intimidated. "But, then she'll know _your _part in the whole affair too…"

"I know," sighed Terry, "And I don't care. She deserves the truth, even if it screws me over. I mean, it's not just _me_ even! You're here hiring villains to fight your own team, hiring people to mess up their personal lives…what kind of director _are_ you?!" Despite being wound quite tightly, he still chuckled as he said, "I mean, I know everybody says reality TV's scripted, but this is _ridiculous_!"

Leaning back and clasping his hands, Jupiter was working quite hard to keep a straight face. "Terry, Terry, Terry…you know what I've done to this team, the people I've hired, and the contacts I have, and yet you _threaten_ me?! What do you think I'm going to do to _you_?"

Terry's heart fell so far it practically landed in his feet. He backed up slowly until he was right by the office door—it took everything he had not to run. He could kick himself for being so stupid! Of _course_ Jupiter was going to fight back! Still, taking every last bit of his nerve, the gofer just said, "I don't care. I—I'm going to go tell her right now!"

And then the door flung open. A teenaged girl covered in black and orange chain-mail leapt into the room and landed a roundhouse kick to Terry's face, knocking him unconscious instantly. She wore a mask, half orange and half black, that covered the top half of her head, and only had one eye-hole. Snow white hair hung out the back, falling about halfway down her back. On her back was an x-shaped sheath holding four swords—she drew one and, grabbing the boy's limp body around its waist, held the weapon to his neck.

She was Rose Wilson, Ravager, daughter of Deathstroke, the most deadly mercenary alive. "Alright, don't move or I kill him right now!"

Behind her was her brother, Joe, Jericho. He wore a black Kevlar vest, and the rest of his uniform was comprised of blue chain-mail. Unlike the rest of his family, he didn't wear a mask—his face was left uncovered, as was his short blonde hair.

"Good job, my dear." Next entered her father himself. Slade Wilson was one of the most dangerous men in the world—he could kill with pretty much anything, and with his cold and uncompassionate demeanor, nothing stood in his way. Months ago, Jupiter had hired him to fight the Titans and lose. Slade had never planned to _actually_ lose, but that's exactly what happened, and now he had returned to make sure everybody involved paid _dearly_ for the damage this did to his reputation.

Mr. Loren Jupiter was surprised, but not scared. To him, Deathstroke was about as threatening as Terry was—which, of course, wasn't much at all. "Deathstroke, it's been ages! Out early for good behavior?"

"No," said Slade bluntly as he aimed a sub-machine gun at Jupiter's head, "I'm out to kill you. And really, I've wasted far too much time attending to this already, though, on the bright side, it's certainly built up my anticipation."

"Hm," chuckled Jupiter, "Well I hope your hopes aren't _too_ high. You know nothing ever lives up to expectation in life."

Deathstroke's face was hidden beneath a full face mask, his emotions just as effectively disguised. So, when he next spoke, it was slightly unclear whether he was _amused_ or _angry_—or perhaps _both._ "Jokes—even you aren't stupid enough to be serious. What's your plan?"

Right about then Jupiter's secretary, Lilith Clay, peeked around the corner. When she saw Slade's gun pointed towards her boss, she nearly smiled. He'd be doing the world a _favor_ killing him—_Terry_, however, was another story altogether. That's why the girl didn't hesitate for a second as she leapt into the air, hoping to knock Ravager away from the boy.

Jericho, however, had other plans. He made eye-contact with the red-head while she was still in mid-leap, and instantly he took control of her body. As he landed just inches short of Rose, his host's stiletto boots gave out and he tripped.

"I hate high heels," grumbled Joe, through Lilith's mouth.

"Well, there goes your escape," said Slade, nearly chuckling.

Jupiter however, was even more amused. "Ms. Clay had nothing to do with it. I don't have a _plan_, per say—consider it more of an _offer_."

Frowning, Deathstroke shared his feelings about this by firing a bullet through Jupiter's shoulder. "Taking one of your offers started this whole mess. No deal."

Blood leaked from the wound as Jupiter clamped down tight on his shoulder—still, he wasn't done. It was time to pour on the…_charm_. "T-that boy your daughter has…he's Terry Long, he—he's Wonder Girl's boyfriend. Just i-imagine the damage you could do with him…with the Titans' family and friends…tell me D-Deathstroke…how sweet would that be?"

"What do you think we are, dense, retarded?" scoffed Rose. "Quit trying to w—"

"Quiet, Ravager!" The mercenary cut off his daughter, and was obviously deep in thought. "That's actually not a half-bad idea, Jupiter. You surprise me."

He also surprised his children. Jericho, still in Lilith Clay's body, certainly felt uneasy. If his dad was thinking of letting Jupiter _go_, then something was seriously wrong here. "Dad…"

"If you're actually gonna listen to the jerk's plan, at least off 'im first!" interjected Rose.

Slade frowned—he'd have to up their dosages of mind-control serum after the mission was over. "Both of you: enough! This is my decision and my decision alone." Activating his comm-link, he continued, "Wintergreen, find me files on the Titans closest allies, and ready the weapon. We'll be going into action as soon as I return."

Despite his injury—and despite how bleak things _seemed_—Jupiter was grinning from ear to ear. He'd never been able to go _this_ all-out before, and he was quite pleased at the results.

"You're a lucky man, Jupiter," complimented Deathstroke as he sauntered towards the door. "This time things won't work out like before, but I'll let you live just long enough to see me break your team. Then, I'll be _back_. Enjoy your respite." Walking out of the office, he beckoned, "Children, come! And Ravager, bring the boy!"

She followed, complaining all the way. Jericho exited Lilith's body, pushed her to the floor, and exited as well. As he caught up, he heard his younger sister loudly objecting to their father's actions. "Dad, how could you let him live, even for just a little while?! Don't you remember what happened last time?!"

Suddenly Slade Wilson span and lashed out with a devastating back-hand that knocked Rose into the wall. "Don't you _ever_ question me again!"

He marched off, leaving Joe to help his sister to her feet. "What's wrong with him, Joey?" she asked, and the body-jumper had no answer but a shrug. He didn't know what was wrong with his father, but he knew _something_ was up. Slade never would have let Jupiter live unless something was influencing his actions.

Back in Mr. Jupiter's office, Lilith had the same sinking feeling Jericho did. She climbed to her feet, and saw her boss, still clutching his injury, yet _smiling_. It made her nauseous.

"What did you do to him?!" demanded Ms. Clay. "I know there's no way Deathstroke would spare us unless you somehow made him do it!"

"Then you should be _grateful_, Ms. Clay," slowly replied her bleeding employer. "As for the _how_ of the matter, let's just say that you have your secrets, and _I _have _mine_." Suddenly a wave of pain racked his body, and nearly doubling over, Jupiter continued, "And can you _please_ get my doctor in here?!"

*****ON THE AIR—ALLEN RESIDENCE, KEYSTONE CITY, KANSAS, USA*****

Wally West was once just a typical teenager from Blue Valley, Nebraska. That all changed the day an accident in his uncle's lab turned him into a living being of energy, an avatar of the mythical source of all momentum, the Speed Force. Traumatized by the loss of his body, he joined a reality show assembling a group of teenaged super heroes in order to strike back at the man he thought responsible for his predicament: The Flash (secretly his uncle, Barry Allen.)

His plight was made even worse by his involvement with his cynical, withdrawn teammate Raven and the bi-polar Magenta, Francis Kane. At the height of his depression, he was offered his body back by the megalomaniacal Brother Blood, and was turned into his pawn. Needless to say, after Blood was defeated, Wally wasn't a happy camper.

_Speed: "I screwed up big time. It's like, y'know, I didn't feel bad enough about myself already without this. I mean, I've never been as into this 'super-hero' thing as the rest of them, but it's not like I want to see some retarded professor with a huge ego enslave the world either, and that's almost what I helped him do!_

_"With that, and with Raven being more of a b---- every day, I don't really have any reason to stay there anymore. The girl I _love_ beat the crap out of me and blew me off at the same time—_that's_ a new one! I know we could make a relationship work, but she's not even going to listen to me about it…so why do I even bother?_

_"At times like this, there's only one person I can talk to. As of now, my Aunt Iris is the only person I trust to help. She's always cared about me, always been there even when no one else was. She advised me to try to fit in at Titans Tower, and…and I'm sure she was right…how could she have seen what would happen?_

_"If anybody would know what to do, _she_ would."_

"So that's the whole story, Aunt Iris…"

"That's a tough one, kiddo," replied Iris West-Allen. The reporter tapped her chin and crossed her legs, deep in thought. She'd advised Wally to stay with the Titans because she didn't know if her nephew's condition could ever be reversed, and she wanted him to make the best of it, to make friends who could help him through it.

Instead, he'd got caught up in Raven. She sighed as she remembered how girls had always been his downfall—then again, she couldn't blame him for his hang-ups. Wally's parents had beaten into him the idea that he'd never go anywhere, for him to keep his head to the ground and aspire to be as normal as possible. Wally literally couldn't comprehend this chance he'd been given to do so much good!

Iris wanted to kill her idiot brother for that. "Well, I don't really know what to say. If you aren't a Titan, I don't know where else you can go. Look, you don't really have a choice. When I recommended you rejoin the team, I just wanted you to make friends, not get a girlfriend.

"Which isn't to say that would be bad, but from what you've told me, it seems like you've spent all your time pursuing Raven. What about the others? I know you don't like Wonder Girl or Robin, but what about Starfire and Cyborg? They both seem to really care about you, Wally."

_Speed: "God, she's always right. Freaking always."_

The specter of speed sighed, his head hanging so low it was nearly between his knees. "Yeah, I know Aunt Iris. It's just…"

"Seeing Raven every day?"

_Speed: "And that's _why_ she's always right, she knows me like a book…"_

"Exactly! How am I supposed to deal with that?!"

"The same way you deal with everything else: you just _do_." Speed just gave her a puzzled, slightly disgruntled expression. "Don't give me that look, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Sometimes we just have to do what we _have_ to, damn our excuses. And Wally, there's no way you're going to survive without friends.

"And besides, if you want to make up for your mishap with Brother Blood, I don't see any other _choice_ for you but to go back!"

Climbing to his feet, Speed smirked—she totally had him with both of those points. "I know, Aunt Iris." He kissed her on the cheek—she tried not to bristle at how abrasive his Speed Force shell felt against her soft skin. "And, as always, you're right…Thanks."

"Anytime, kiddo," smiled his aunt. "And don't be such a stranger. Anytime you have something to tell me, _anything,_ just come and tell me!"

"Of course, Aunt Iris." Nearly blushing, Wally burst forth, melding through the house's walls and taking off at break-neck speed for San Francisco.

_Speed: "Really, nothing changed from last time I talked to Aunt Iris. _Raven_, _she's_ the problem! I'll show her, I'll ignore her completely. I don't need her. I can have friends! I mean, where else on Earth am I gonna fit in at if not Titans Tower? Screw my screw ups, I'll show them all what I can do!"_

Watching his yellow trail disappear in the distance, Iris sighed. She hoped she did the right thing. Wally always left her so enthused, but it never took long for life to drag him right down again. How long could he follow her advice this time?

Still, it didn't matter. Her husband had been working with Cyborg ever since the Blood incident to reverse Wally's condition. All she had to do was keep him sane a _little _longer…and hopefully they would have an answer!

Suddenly, she heard a noise from the other room. _'That's odd,'_ she thought, _'Barry shouldn't be home this early…'_ Still, when you're married to the Flash, you get used to him showing up at random hours. Or, it could've been Bart, skipping school again—it wouldn't be the first time.

Still, as Iris rounded the corner into the living room, she never expected the figure she was met by. As the house lit up, she could only scream one word:

"You?!"

*****TITANS TOWER—SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran sighed as she flipped through the channels. Despite the tower picking up nearly every station known to man, she was bored and restless. She didn't _want_ to watch TV—she'd done enough of that when she first joined the team to last a lifetime—but nearly everybody was gone from the Tower. Everybody was out doing something on their own, except for her boyfriend, Dick Grayson, the acrobat known as Robin.

This should have been good news, because what Starfire _wanted_ to do was be with him—unfortunately, he wasn't exactly being cooperative in that area.

_Starfire: "I do not understand what has been wrong with Dick lately! When we first met I admired his honesty and enthusiasm, but ever since his fight with Flamebird he has been withdrawn, spending all his time training by himself or with the little Robin! He used to let me watch him train, or help, but now…_

_"And it is not just that! He even seems to be shutting _himself_ out! When we fought Brother Blood he was so joyless, almost like he was another person! Why would he be trying to be so…dark?"_

Suddenly the alien powerhouse was startled out of her thoughts by the phone ringing. She hit a button on the oversized remote, and Matt Logan's face appeared on television screen.

"Matt!" exclaimed Koriand'r. Matt was the cousin of Gar Logan, Beast Boy, who had stayed at Titans Tower a while back, until his disastrous union with Kory's sister, Blackfire. "It is wonderful to speak to you! How are things?!"

"Not bad babe, not bad at all," replied the slacker with a smile. "Yo, is Gar home? I have a new video game I was gonna bring over an' let him try out."

"Actually, he is spending the day with Animal Man and his family," replied Kory. "Should I tell him you called?"

"Totally," laughed Matt as he winked and pointed his fingers toward the camera like a gun. "I'll see ya around, hot stuff."

*****OFF THE AIR*****

Matt Logan turned around and kicked back open the door of the unkept house he was staying at with five of his closest pals. "Yo guys, looks like I'll be 'round today after all!"

His friends were all sitting around a keg, each with a beer bong in hand, and they just stared at the boy. "C'mon, pull out a bong for me!"

Before they could, however, Matt was snatched away by a supersonic streak of light, disappearing as if he was never there. His friends looked on for a second, stupefied, before turning back to the keg.

"More for us!"

*****ON THE AIR*****

Kory, meanwhile, was riding the elevator towards the training room.

_Starfire: "Matt went through a lot with Komand'r when he stayed at the tower. Gar seemed to think he would never come back again. Well, if he can face his problems this easily, so can I! Besides, I know well enough that hiding my feelings will only cause trouble. Maybe that is what everybody on Earth does, but that only makes problems worse—just like the one Dick and I are having!"_

She knocked on the steel door several times, and several minutes later Robin answered the door. "Oh, hey Kory! What's happenin'?"

"Nothing really," said the princess coyly, "I just wanted to be with you!"

Dick blushed and started to grin, but just as quickly lost the signs of happiness. "Awesome, but…I'm kinda training right now, y'know, the little Robin an' me."

"So?" shrugged Starfire. "You used to let me sit in on your practice sessions all the time!"

"Yeah, but we're goin' into the city for on the spot training today. We're trying to blend in with the shadows, and, well, everybody would notice you!"

_Robin: "I mean, everybody already does, and I love it cause they must be _so_ jealous of me, but we don't need that during detective training!"_

The Tamaranian just glared at her boyfriend, but he pulled her close and laid a passionate kiss onto her lips. "C'mon Kory, we'll do something really fun when I get back."

"Fine," she replied, but she wasn't at all happy about it. As the door slid shut, Koriand'r unfurled a scream of pure frustration and unleashed a Starbolt into a nearby trashcan, reducing it to steaming cinders.

_Starfire: "What is _wrong_ with him?!"_

On the other side of the sound-proof training room door, Robin couldn't hear her cry. The guilt, however, still lingered like a stale odor.

_Robin: "Y'know, honestly, I would like Kory to come with us. I know it doesn't look like it, but I care about her a lot. Hell, I might even f---ing _love_ her. But I need to keep my life as Dick and my life as Robin separate. I can't f--- around anymore! Not if I don't want to be as useless as Flamebird!_

_"The little Robin's gonna teach me to be as good as him an' Batman are, and while I'm workin' on that, _that's_ what I'm gonna focus on!"_

"She could've come," grumbled the younger Robin, the mysterious partner of the equally mysterious vigilante, the Batman.

"You're trying to show me how to be a detective," replied Dick. "She'd have gotten in the way."

A small, wry grin cracked the smaller boy's face. "Please, you would like her there as much as I do. We all appreciate the distraction."

This time Dick couldn't retain his laughter. "Perv."

"Oh please, you're one to talk." The smaller Robin pulled a book from beneath his cape and tossed it to his counterpart. "Here, if you're so eager to get to the lesson, then take a look."

"What, this the latest Harry Potter or something? I thought they were over."

"Just read it…"

"Diary?" Dick Grayson raised an eyebrow quizzically. "You keep a diary? Dude, if you're trying to come out to me, well s---, I'm flattered, but shouldn't you tell the bat first?"

_Robin: "I mean, if a guy has to keep a diary, at least call it a 'journal', that'll take away at least 10% of the gay, but still, just don't!"_

"It's not _mine_, moron," sighed the detective as he smacked his face with his palm.

Opening the front cover, Dick discovered a name inside. "Oh, right—holy f---ing s---, this is Donna's?!" The acrobat could barely contain his excitement. "Oh, this is _too_ good!"

"Calm down, you're only going to read the page I have marked in there."

"How the hell'd you even _get_ this, kid?!"

"That's not important right now! Just read it!"

_Robin: "Heh, he's gonna tell me, whether he wants to or not! I'll never forget!"_

The older Robin finally scanned the page in question. "Woah, Donna doesn't know who her parents are? Why didn't she ask any of us for help finding out?!"

"She was going to at first," explained the younger crime-fighter. "It was the main reason she _joined_ the Titans. But, well, it's no secret she wasn't really impressed with you guys, and then she got involved with Terry, and next thing you know…"

"The whole thing just falls apart." Dick shut the book and looked at it for a second, still trying to figure out its significance. "So what's this have to do with training?"

"Everything," replied his young friend with a smile. "Today, you're taking your first real test as a detective: you're going to figure out who Donna Troy's parents are!"

Dick smiled like the Chesire cat. "Now _that_ sounds like an adventure!"

*****OFF THE AIR—AZARATH, BETWEEN DIMENSIONS*****

Azarath was a haven. Located in a pocket between dimensions, it was safe from attacks of almost any nature. Its elegant and majestic towers and monuments glistened against the backdrop of a multi-colored, nearly psychedelic sky. At its epicenter was the most impressive building of all: a temple to the Goddess of Pacifism, Azar.

Those who founded Azarath were monks, looking to escape the violence inevitably found in every dimension, every world. The haven they created was a place of peace and inaction—violence could _never_ be permitted.

It was here that the empath and Teen Titan known as Raven was raised. The monks taught her to control her emotions lest she give birth to a great and uncontrollable evil, but that proved nearly impossible, for from Azarath she could monitor any world. She saw the wicked deeds of the humans on her birth world, and every evil act ate away at her soul.

She begged the Monks of Azarath to intervene, but they refused. And every life they could have saved but didn't ate away at her soul as well.

Soon, Raven grew to hate mankind. Soon, Raven grew to hate her mentors.

That was why she destroyed Azarath.

Now the once-peaceful haven was nothing but ruins. The towers had all been knocked down, the monuments defaced, and the temple of Azar had been reduced to rubble. Even the bright sky seemed darker, as if in mourning of the city that had once been a radiant jewel floating through its endless air.

Raven now floated above the desolated sanctuary, her dark cloak flapping behind her through an otherworldly breeze. This was where she came to think, to remind herself of why her mission was so important, to focus and keep her goal plainly in sight.

Focusing was something Raven desperately needed to do. Lately her mind had been starting to feel…clouded. She'd made a friend in Starfire. The empath truly admired the alien's honesty and compassion. Unfortunately, this only raised further issues in her mind. Could she truly go through with her endeavor if she had a friend?

But, as always, seeing Azarath set her priorities straight. And now, _nothing_ could deter her.

Suddenly a voice came over the radio in her ear. She was needed—but _not_ by her teammates. "Yes, Jupiter," replied Raven, "I am on my way."

The Titan was enveloped by her black cloak, its energy growing into a bird-shape before dissipating and leaving only Azarath—empty, desolate Azarath, a warning of things to come.

Unfortunately, nobody knew it.

*****ON THE AIR—THE STREETS OF SAN FRANSISCO*****

"Wow, this city's actually pretty nice when it's not bein' robbed or attacked by supervillains."

Chuckling, Sarah Simms held on to the metallic arm of her boyfriend, Victor Stone, the half-machine member of the Teen Titans known as Cyborg. "Yeah," she agreed, "We should've got you out here sooner! You spend too much time cooped up in your lab!"

"Well, if there's one thing that can get me out, it's you," grinned Vic. "So, where to next?"

_Cyborg: "Sarah's been goin' to college here for two years, so she knows this city like the back of her hand. Y'know, it's weird. I keep forgetting she's older than me! I guess, I dunno…not to brag or anything, but I feel a lot older than the other Titans, a lot older than I actually am. I guess maybe that's why I worry about 'em so much. They're all like my little brothers an' sisters, an' it's my job to take care of 'em._

_"So I like Sarah gettin' to be in charge for a day!"_

"Oh, I've got just the place in mind," said the slim blonde, but as she started to describe it, her boyfriend lost his focus. His internal radar was picking something that didn't belong in the nearby airspace, and it was moving _fast_. His enhanced hearing focused in on the sounds, and—

"DOWN!" Cyborg tackled his date as she was in mid-sentence, spinning in mid-air so that he'd land on his back, cradling his fragile cargo in his arms. Only a second behind him, a streak of light blew through where the two had been standing. Not having achieved its goal, it suddenly stopped its flight in mid-air, and the subsequent shockwave broke windows up and down the block.

As the blinding light diminished it revealed a man in a black costume with a white cape, wearing a black mask with a white fin running vertically across the middle of his head.

"Dr. Light?!"

As Victor's jaw dropped to the ground, Sarah Simms had only one question: "Who?!"

_Cyborg: "Dr. Light was the first enemy we faced on our first day as a team! I dunno what the hell he's doin' here, though—Raven blanked out his mind! Last time we saw him, Mr. Jupiter's men were takin' him away an' he was a zombie! What the hell's he doin' here?!"_

"No time to explain, Sarah! Just stay behind me!" Indeed, Cyborg didn't even have a chance to _attack_ as Light sent two blinding projectiles of his namesake speeding towards his targets. A shield of pure, solidified energy erected itself between Victor Stone and the attack, saving their lives—if only for the moment.

For a being capable of moving at the speed of light, however, a moment was more than enough time. While Vic was still busy with his shield, Light took off and zoomed behind the machine-man, setting his sights on Sarah!

Dr. Light was rewarded for his efforts with a steel fist to his face, sending the villain zooming through a building.

_Cyborg: "'Kay, like I thought, that's definitely not Light—least not his _mind!_ He never moved that fast before, and the real Light wouldn't shut up, so this can't be him!"_

Starbursts came to live in both of the not-so-good doctor's palms, but suddenly a voice started chattering into his ear, over a small radio transmitter. Noticing his enemy's hesitation, Cyborg brought his sensors to life, and managed to pick up a few garbled pieces of the transmission.

"Get back here…forget the girl…you're needed…" Dr. Light slowly turned and prepared to do as he was told.

"No you don't you bastard…" A small tube emerged from the top of Vic's wrist, and as he aimed carefully, it launched a small tracker onto the villain's cape. Then Light was gone, leaving a trail of light over the city like the St. Louis arch.

Sarah was shaken as she climbed to her feet. "S---," she gasped, "He was after _me_, wasn't he?"

_Cyborg: "I didn't want to tell her the truth, 'specially since I didn't know why he wanted her. I figured she went through enough with Blood as it is…"_

"I'm not sure," said the half-machine, "But you'd better get somewhere safe, just in case. I'm gonna follow him!"

"No." Suddenly Sarah was on her boyfriend's back, both her arms around his neck. "If he _is_ after me, then the safest place I can be is with you!"

_Cyborg: "Heh, I shoulda known she would do that."_

"Alright then, I can't argue with ya there." Crouching slightly, Cyborg suddenly took to the air, leaping with every bit of his tremendous leg strength. As they reached the peak of their flight, boosters on the soles of his feet kicked in.

"Better hang on, though," advised Vic. "I don't know what the hell we're gettin' ourselves into!"

*****THE BAKER RESIDENCE—SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

"Wow, Mrs. Baker! This stuff is delicious!"

Tiny Garfield Logan, the green animal shapeshifter known as Beast Boy, was shoving a plateful of food into his mouth like he was a garbage disposal. Around the table four other figures watched the Titan in amazement.

"I'm…glad you think so, Garfield," said a slim red-head in her early thirties. She was Ellen Baker, wife of Buddy Baker, the animal rights activist and super-hero known as Animal Man. "Buddy told me you were interested in learning some vegan recipes, and this was one of my favorites…"

Swallowing another giant spoonful, Gar replied, "I can see why!"

_Beast Boy: "I like these guys! When I first met Animal Man I thought he was a real weirdo, but that wasn't his fault. He's really cool, and so is his family! They all care about animals as much as I do! I mean, I've been like a billion different kinds of animals, so there's no way I could eat one, and not many people understand that._

_"And jeez, this stuff's a million times better than plain ol' tofu!"_

"If you like it so much, want mine?" Cliff, the Baker's son, was maybe thirteen years old at the most, dressed in a grungy metal band t-shirt and a backwards baseball cap. Pushing his plate across the table, he offered, "Please?"

His sister Maxine, several years younger, was apparently quite used to her brother's antics. "Mommy, Cliff's trying to get rid of his dinner again!"

"I know, Maxine…" sighed Ellen.

"Cliff, you know you're not leaving this table until you eat your food," lectured Buddy. "Why do you keep trying this?"

"Cause I'm missing my show!" countered Cliff.

Despite all the arguing, Gar just smiled.

_Beast Boy: "Heh, despite how it looks, I actually really like this. I guess you all know by now how my parents died with I was just a little kid, and then how I wasn't with the Doom Patrol long before they were murdered. What I don't think I ever mentioned is what I did after that._

_"I traveled the world, surviving anyway I could. It's not like I could just get a job, I really can't do anything besides becoming animals, and no _way_ was I going to an orphanage!. Anyway, I definitely didn't like it. Finally I saw the ads for the Titans, and I joined right up! I just wanted a home again, and maybe more than anything, a family. And I was kinda surprised, but it delivered!_

_"But bein' with Animal Man and his family is different. It reminds me of a _real_ family, like I had before my parents died. So even if they're fightin', to me it's just kinda comforting. I…I miss all this chaos."_

"Don't do this tonight Cliff, we have a guest!"

"I don't mind," interjected Gar. "I mean, I don't want any trouble 'cause I'm here."

Leaping from his seat so hard that the chair tipped and fell, Cliff went running into the living room. "All right!"

The changeling chuckled, which prompted Maxine to ask, "Maybe _you_ want him?"

"I'm sorry Gar," said Buddy, "I was hoping things would be a little more peaceful for your visit."

"Don't worry about it," said Beast Boy with a smile. "I kinda like it."

Animal Man just raised an eyebrow. "Are you _sure_ you're okay?"

Suddenly a slight scream cut off their conversation, and Cliff came running around the corner. "Greenie, you've gotta see this!"

"What?" Beast Boy dashed into the living room, and only a minute later he screamed as well. The kid came rounding the corner back into the dining room, angry and nervous and more worked up than he'd been since they fought the Brotherhood!

_Beast Boy: "Great, this is the last thing I wanted, lunch out or not!"_

"Gar, what's wrong?!"

"No time to explain! It's on TV anyway!" Looking towards his meal, Gar sighed. "Sorry to run out, you guys. I really did appreciate this. Mrs. Baker, think I could get a green doggie's bag?"

She nodded and moved towards the counter, and this time the shapeshifter turned towards his superhero colleague. "And if you don't mind…think you could let me use your JLA transporter to get back to this Tower? This is bad!"

*****TITANS TOWER*****

"Donna! I am so happy to see you!" Starfire floated eagerly behind her half-Amazon teammate, who wasn't very happy to see her.

_Starfire: "Finally, somebody is here! This tower was far too empty!"_

"Kory, I'm really not in the mood." Wonder Girl sighed and dropped her purse angrily onto the table, scanning the living room.

_Wonder Girl: "I shouldn't have been so mean to Kory, but I was just annoyed that my date with Terry didn't go as planned. Plus, I had to get the Tower ready before he got there, and that's no small task with my housemates!"_

Suddenly a light shone in the middle of the room, and Beast Boy appeared from nowhere! "No, I can't teleport!" he exclaimed, knowing every second counted.

_Starfire: "How did he know what I was going to ask?!"_

_Beast Boy: "Hey, that's what_ I _would've thought!"_

"What's wrong with you?" grumbled Donna. "I thought you were going to be out for the day."

"I was, but this is _bad!_" He turned into a cat and leapt for the remote, but it was intercepted by a golden streak.

"The kid's right, I saw it on my way back here" said Wally as he started pressing buttons at super speed. "Check this."

Koriand'r's eyes lit up, if only for a second. "Wally, you're back! I knew you wouldn't quit!"

_Beast Boy: "Well, _duh_."_

However, any joy any of the four Titans felt instantly evaporated as they watched the newswoman on the television. "…and we've yet to receive a statement from the Teen Titans' representatives. Again, this is the video that was sent to all media only thirty minutes ago…"

The image on the screen switched to one of Deathstroke waltzing through a building, a semi-automatic in hand. "Teen Titans: you have humiliated me once, and for that I deserve revenge. I have some things that belong to you. If you value their safety, you'll show up here alone."

The screen flashed to the image of a scrawny boy strung up on a wall.

"Matt!" exclaimed Kory, and behind her, Gar gulped.

Next it showed a slightly older woman similarly restrained.

Wally was ready to kill. "Aunt Iris…"

Finally, in the middle was tied up a young man with red hair.

"Terry?!" Donna's jaw dropped.

_Wonder Girl: "No! Deathstroke is not going to do this, especially not today! No way!"_

The sadistic mercenary gave directions, and they barely finished before Wally went speeding away, and for once, nobody could blame him.

"Find the others, Kory," growled Donna Troy, seething. "And do it fast.

"This is going to be a war."

Next time: Hostage Situation!


	19. Hostage Situation

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and are owned by DC Comics.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 19: Hostage Situation!**

**ROLE CALL:**

**THE TEEN TITANS—Teenage heroes and reality TV stars:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

**THE DEATHSTROKE FAMILY—The deadliest band of mercenaries alive:**

**Deathstroke—**Slade Wilson: The deadliest mercenary alive, cruel and emotionless, capable of tapping into 90% of his brain's capacity.

**Major William Wintergreen: **Slade's eternally indebted and flawlessly loyal right-hand man.

**Jericho—**Joseph Wilson: Slade's mute son, compassionate and artistic and able to possess anybody by making eye contact.

**Ravager—**Rose Wilson: Slade's daughter, a rebellious wild-child and martial artist with precognitive abilities.

**Dr. Light—**Arthur Light: Moronic light manipulator, now brain-dead and under Slade's total control.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

*****ON THE AIR—OVER THE UNITED STATES AND MOVING FAST*****

Far above the ground, above the _clouds_, a small black jet moved several times faster than the speed of sound towards its destination: New York City, where Donna Troy had been found as a baby and her mystery still could be solved.

Shaped like a bat—or at least like the bat-emblem that was proudly worn on Batman's chest—the jet contained within two boys named Robin. One was driving, having the time of his life, while the other feared for his life because, well, _he_ was the one who should be driving!

"WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Dick Grayson's white knuckled hands gripped tightly onto the steering wheel, and his body was pushed back as far in the seat as it could go by the pure force of their trip. His adrenal glands were working double-time trying to keep up with the excitement.

His young counterpart, however, was starting to turn green. He really needed to install barf bags. "Dick, slow down!" he cried, though his voice could barely be heard over the roar of the Batwing. He should've known better than to let Dick drive, no matter how much he begged. "If you knick this thing, Batman will kill _both_ of us!"

"Slow down?!" Dick asked incredulously. "Hell no! I'm having too much fun!

"WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

*****OFF THE AIR—MR. JUPITER'S OFFICE*****

Mr. Loren Jupiter, corrupt director of _'The Real World: Titans Tower'_, lay as far back in his office chair as he could. Blood stained one whole side of his shirt, where he had been shot by Deathstroke just hours before. His secretary, Ms. Clay, had fetched his doctor fast as she could, and now bandages covered his cleaned and treated wound.

However, Jupiter had resources at hand so secret that even Ms. Clay was unaware of their existence. The darkened room was suddenly illuminated by a translucent mix of blue and purple light. Jupiter was immersed deep within the cloak of Raven, the empath and Teen Titan who was connected to the director…somehow. Though her dark garment usually brought pain and nightmares, today it was healing her comrade's wounds, relieving his pain.

"Thank you, Raven," he said with a smile as he pulled the crimson-stained bandages from his wound—which was no longer visible or even really there, as it had been utterly and completely healed by the empath. Spinning in his office chair, he pressed a button and brought to life a picture on a giant view-screen on his wall. "Let's see how our friend Deathstroke has handled this situation, shall we?"

"I suppose I should be there in person to handle this," said Raven as her cloak lost its bright pallor and prepared to transport her through the darkness between dimensions and to Slade.

However, Mr. Jupiter wasn't on the same wavelength. "Actually, I'd prefer it if you stayed here this time."

Raven simply replied with a confused look. "I sense you are confident in your decision, but…I am not so certain this is wise."

"Nonsense," dismissed the director. "It's almost time for the end stroke, and what's better than the Titans—outnumbered—against their most determined enemy, with the very lives of their friends, family and lovers on the line to drive up ratings one last time?! Besides, while I know Slade has a contingency against you, you're still rather…overpowered, wouldn't you say?"

The empath still just glared. Her boss, however, was positively giddy. "Then, once the battles over, you not being there will just _add_ to the drama! It's going to be absolutely fantastic!"

"You are a cruel, selfish man," bluntly stated Raven. "Let us hope this turns out the way you planned."

Leaning back in his chair and clasping his hands, Jupiter's smile filled his face. "It always does Raven, it always does."

*****DEATHSTROKE'S COMPOUND—SAN FRANSCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

"You'll never get away with this! My cousin's a superhero, he'll kick all your asses to Timbuktu and back, wherever the hell that is!"

Matt Logan, the slacker cousin of Beast Boy, was chained to a wall, suspended by clamps around his wrists and ankles. Unlike Deathstroke's other hostages, he'd never lost consciousness when Dr. Light abducted him. He always _was_ an obstinate one.

On the other side of the same wall was Iris West-Allen, the aunt and best friend of Speed. The shock of finding Light in her home had caused her to faint, and she was still out cold. Between the two hostages was a redheaded boy, Terry Long, the "secret" boyfriend of Wonder Girl. He'd originally been hired by Jupiter to interfere in Donna's love life, but had grown to love her. Just as he was about to blow the whistle, Jupiter offered him up as a sacrifice to Deathstroke.

Now Terry and the others were nothing more than bait to draw the Titans into the sociopathic mercenary's trap. As the only one still conscious, Matt wasn't too happy about it. "C'mon, lemme out so I can kick your asses myself!"

Slade Wilson—Deathstroke—stood by the opposite wall, which was covered with buttons, levers, and weapons. Behind his fierce and mysterious mask, he was actually amused by his hostage. "You want to fight _me_? Charming."

His daughter wasn't as ambivalent. Rose Wilson gritted her teeth, eagerly gripping the hilts of her swords. "Daddy, can I _please_ kill him? He's terrible!"

Matt actually grinned at her. "Please babe, tell me how you _really_ feel. You know you want a piece of the Matt-meister!"

"That's it!" cried Rose as she drew her blades, but her father instantly put an end to her rage.

"Ravager! Stand down!" Slade's frightening command echoed through the room, and even if she hadn't been under the influence of mind-control serum, Ravager would have listened. Turning to her older brother, the mercenary continued, "Jericho, would you please resolve this?"

Jericho marched forward silently, creeping Matt out—he didn't realize that Joseph Wilson was mute. Deathstroke's son pulled the hostage's shoes off, then his socks, and proceeded to stuff the socks in the young Mr. Logan's mouth.

Now his protests were nothing more than muffled gibberish. Rose laughed out loud. "Wow Joey, good one!"

Slade, meanwhile, pulled a lever which made a small portion of the wall slide back. Behind was a cramped, dark room, with Wintergreen sitting at a computer console. "Have you found them yet?"

"Well, I still haven't gotten a bead on Batman's partner, but I have found Sarah Simms. Unfortunately, Cyborg's with her."

"Then our job is done," replied Deathstroke. "Give him enough time to land a tracker, then lead him back here. I'll use the girl as bait one way or another."

"Yes, sir," replied the mercenary's right hand man, as he turned back to his console. From it, he could control Dr. Light's hollow shell of a body—a gift from Mr. Jupiter—remotely. He made a most dangerous tool.

Meanwhile, Slade found his daughter admiring his wall of weapons. "So you really have a plan to take down each Titan, daddy?"

"Of course, my dear," replied Rose's father as he grabbed a small blue sphere from her hand. "This, for example, is an empathic stimulator, meant to cripple Raven with painful bursts of simulated anger, pain, and other negative emotions."

He gestured towards other weapons. "The EMP cannon is meant to disable Cyborg's systems, and the mini-gattling rifle is designed to fire high amounts of ammunition so rapidly that even Wonder Girl won't be able to deflect them all." Moving along, Slade picked up a disk and cradled it between his fingers. "Finally we have an energy disruptor, meant specifically for our intangible friend, Speed."

"Lemme guess: this is for Beast Boy?" Ravager pointed to a cattle prod and snickered. "But what about Robin?"

Cracking his knuckles, Deathstroke frowned. "Leave Robin to _me_."

*****ON THE AIR*****

"You _bastards!_" Suddenly a supersonic streak of yellow zoomed through the wall. It was Wally West, Speed, the avatar of the mythical Speed Force itself, and he was, to put it lightly, _pissed_.

_Speed: "Why can nothing ever go right for me?! Aunt Iris is the most important person in my life, and these f---ers picked the wrong nerve to strike! I'm not holding back, not at all!"_

"Catch." Slade hurled the energy disruptor into Wally's path, and suddenly the speed specter practically exploded, becoming nothing but a simmering surge of electricity. With his body disrupted, he was _helpless._

_Speed: "I've never felt anything like it! I didn't even realize I _could_ feel pain anymore, but this was like, like, like every atom in my body was being ripped into pieces! The whole time I just kept trying to pull myself together, but I couldn't, and I just felt so…helpless. I couldn't help Aunt Iris at all!"_

"Looks like our guests have arrived." Wasting no time, Deathstroke activated his communicator. "Wintergreen, recall the weapon! We need him back _now_."

Sure enough, the rest of the Titans weren't far behind. Green explosions—no doubt from Starbolts—rocked the wall, and through the wreckage flew Wonder Girl, Starfire, and Beast Boy, as a falcon.

_Starfire: "We wasted no time getting here once we saw Deathstroke's message on the television. This time, there was no debate. I could not find Raven or Dick, and as much as I want them here and would like their help, there was no time to wait for them! Our friends are in danger, and there was no proper course but to get here fast!"_

_Beast Boy: "Man, Matt's gonna hate me when this is all over! He keeps gettin' into all this trouble 'cause of me! I just hope I can do this, that I can save him—no, I can't say that! I gotta!"_

_Wonder Girl: "Today was supposed to be the day. I was going to tell the Titans about Terry. We were going to start a _real_ relationship. It was going to be _wonderful._ Now it's ruined! Terry's life is in danger, and I'm not going to sit back and let him die! Not ever, but _especially_ not today!"_

"Ravager, hold off Starfire! Jericho, take care of the others!" Deathstroke called commands and started pulling weapons from his large cache, and his children responded perfectly.

Donna soared straight towards Jericho, who was standing defiantly in the adopted Amazon's path. "Out of the way!" she cried. "I've got more important people to take care of than you!"

Joe, however, just grinned as his eyes met hers. Suddenly his body disappeared, and Wonder Girl skidded to a stop. Beast Boy fell to the ground in his human form, scratching his head. "Woah, where'd he go? Can he turn invisible?"

As an answer to his question, Gar received a full force punch from Donna. By turning into a rhino mid-flight the changeling managed to save every bone in his body from being crushed, but now he was more confused than ever. "Donna?! What the heck was that?"

"Not Donna," replied his teammate with a wicked smile. "Jericho's in control now."

_Wonder Girl: "Talk about an out of body experience! It was like I was watching a movie through my eyes—I could see what I was doing, but I couldn't control it! I couldn't speak, and my body wouldn't follow my commands! Deathstroke went down pretty easy last time when all was said and done, but I think we may be in over our heads this time!"_

Ravager, however, wasn't fairing nearly as well. Her alien opponent had immediately unleashed a flurry of Starbolts, and it took all of the young martial artist's skill and focus just to dodge the relentless attacks.

As soon as she drove Rose back far enough, Starfire turned and unleashed a blast towards the energy disruptor that had Wally disabled. However, her attack did nothing, dissolving into nothingness before it could hit the weapon.

"It's an _energy disruptor_, Starfire," stated Deathstroke, overseeing the battles. "That includes your Starbolts."

Growling, Kory lashed out and attacked Slade himself, but again it dispersed before it could do any damage. "And did you think I wouldn't equip _myself_ with one? That wouldn't be prudent."

Figuring she couldn't let this be a _total_ bust, the alien princess turned to face the hostages. Tiny, precise beams of fluorescent green appeared on her fingertips, aimed towards their restraints. "Fine! Then I shall—"

"I wouldn't if I were you." Deathstroke, ahead of the game as always, pulled a remote from his belt, his finger looming ominously above a button. "If you even _try_ to get close I won't hesitate to blow them to tiny little bits."

_Starfire: "That monster! He has everything thought out! I thought I could end this fast, but it looks like we are going to have to play by his sick rules!"_

"Gotcha!" Suddenly Koriand'r was met by Ravager's foot flying into her face. Deathstroke's daughter struck several more times while still in mid-air, until her precognitive abilities saw something she really didn't like—and _certainly_ couldn't doge in time.

"Oh s---."

And just like that a pillar of green exploded from the alien, sending Rose Wilson flying and scattering broken chunks of her chainmail armor across the room. "Daddy!" she cried as she brushed her stark white hair from her eyes. "Where's the weapon for _her?!_"

_Starfire: "Daddy?! That is right, I remember now—Batman said that Deathstroke was seen fighting with his children, using them as accomplices! How cruel! I do not know how he managed to turn them into criminals, but it really makes me mad!" _

"Have patience, my dear. It's on its way." Falling to one knee, Slade hoisted a rocket launcher over his shoulder and, setting his sights on his daughter's extraterrestrial opponent, fired. "For now, you'll have to make due with a distraction."

The missile didn't have far to go before it collided with Starfire, sending the princess flying into a wall. The smoke hadn't even cleared before a storm of shuriken overtook her, leaving her too busy defending herself to run. "I'll kill you!" cried Ravager as the troubled child leaped into the air, two swords raised far above her head, and slashed with all her might.

It was a good thing for Koriand'r that she had such thick skin. The rocket only battered her, the shuriken barely scratched her, and Rose's swords shattered across her raised arms. Several shards of steel lay embedded in the alien's skin, but that was easily ignored by such a seasoned warrior—as was the broken weapons to her nemesis!

Drawing her final two swords, Ravager pointed both forward and charged. "Well, I guess this means I'll just hafta stab you instead, b----!" Starfire still had the advantage in raw strength, but now that Rose had moved in close, her precognitive abilities more than made up for it, placing the two on even ground—for now.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Kory as she weaved between continued assaults. "I know Deathstroke is your father, but what could possibly make you hurt people like this?!"

"God, you sound like an after school special," snarled Ravager. "I'll do whatever my father asks of me, no questions asked! How do you think I lost my eye?!"

Kory's heart sank.

"Indeed," added Deathstroke from his vantage point. "Jericho and Ravager are good soldiers, and as long as they get their _shots_ every day, they'll _stay_ that way."

_Starfire: "Shots? So he _is_ doing this to them! I do not think I have _ever _been so repulsed!"_

Meanwhile, Beast Boy was still perplexed by the sudden turn his teammate had taken. "Jericho? Donna, what the heck's that mean?!"

_Wonder Girl: "Oh, come on Gar, now's not the time to be dense!"_

"It means your enemy is now in control of your friend!"

_Beast Boy: "So I gotta fight Donna?! Great, like I _need_ to give her a reason to be mad at me…"_

Jericho charged towards his opponent, flying at full speed, but Garfield was easily able to evade the attack by shrinking beneath it, taking the form of a snake. While he was under the adopted Amazon, he grew into a gorilla and grabbed her leg, hurling her into a wall.

"So," asked Gar, "Since you're a guy but you're in Donna's body, does that make you a 'he', or a 'she'?"

_Wonder Girl: "I don't know what was worse, how stupid that question was, or that it really seemed to make Jericho mad!"_

"Don't know, don't care!" cried Joe as he came charging in Wonder Girl's body. Beast Boy became a triceratops and charged as well, the floor shaking from his massive heft. They collided, Jericho deflecting the horns with his host's unbreakable bracelets then hefting a full-powered punch into his jaw, sending him flying.

As the changeling soared across the room, shrinking into his scrawny human form, Deathstroke's son tied Donna's magic lasso and tossed it towards his opponent, all with the perfect form of a rodeo champion.

"Wow," chuckled Gar, "I didn't think anybody besides Donna knew how to use one of those things!"

_Wonder Girl: "He has a point. But I don't think Jericho actually had practice with a lasso…It was more like he could tap into a little of my brain, like he could leech off my skills and experience so he could use my body to its full potential! That really made me mad, because I didn't spend all that time training on Themyscara just for somebody to come along and steal it from me!"_

The rope fell around Beast Boy and Jericho pulled it tight, ensnaring the tiny green boy firmly in the body-hoppers grip. Gar, however, just grinned. "Heh, looks like I'm at my _rope's end!_" As the Titan cracked up, laughing hysterically, his opponent only grimaced further and sent Zeus' lighting up the length of the lasso.

_Beast Boy: "Geez, everybody's a critic!"_

Transforming into an electric eel, Garfield Logan was able to counteract the lighting with some of his own, for just a moment, for just long enough to slip out of the lasso and take off as a green cheetah. Jericho tried to ensnare him again, but becoming a gazelle, Gar leapt above it.

Landing as a panda, Beast Boy squeezed his opponent tight, trapping him with an enormous bear hug. Even as he cut off Donna's circulation, however, Jericho wasn't too fazed. He looked into Gar's eyes, smiled, and suddenly everything changed.

Wonder Girl fell to the ground, gasping. "Wait," she exclaimed breathlessly, "I'm in control again!" Of course, it only took a second to piece everything together. "Wait a second, that means—"

Her sentence was cut off as Jericho—possessing Beast Boy's panda bear form—slapped her across the room. "Wonderful," growled Donna as she wiped blood from her cheek.

Changing shape, Jericho chose the form of a velociraptor, and hissing, he charged his Amazonian opponent. She simply took to the sky, easily dodging his assault. Not letting this deter him, the prehistoric beast skidded to a stop, his nails scratching across the slick floor, and soared after Wonder Girl as a pterodactyl.

He snapped at her, dipping in and out and biting with the dinosaur's numerous jagged teeth. His assaults and her evasions turned into a dogfight that would make the Red Baron himself jealous. Finally, just as Donna avoided Beast Boy's jaw clamping down, she grabbed him by the beak and tossed him across the room.

_Wonder Girl: "That's a tough battle to know how to handle! Even if Deathstroke's kid is in control, he's still in the body of my teammate! I don't want to hurt him too bad, Hera, I don't even know how much he can handle!"_

If she did hurt Gar, Jericho certainly wasn't feeling it. As he was still reeling through the air, he started to grow, and in only a few seconds the massive feet of a Tyrannosaurus Rex stomped onto the floor and let loose a roar that shook the foundations of the building.

_Beast Boy: "Man, Jericho's choosing some pretty monstrous animals! But me, ever since I killed Madame Rouge I've been scared to go this all out—not just with animals this powerful, but even to just change forms as fast as I can or using more kinds! I'm scared I might lose control again, and who knows what could happen this time! But Jericho, man, he has it in control—he's never done this before but he's got a handle on this like a pro!"_

The lumbering beast span as fast as it could, lashing out with its mighty tail and knocking Wonder Girl to the floor. "Fine," growled the Titan, "No more holding back!" Suddenly Donna's lasso was round the T-Rex's neck, and pulling with all her half-Amazonian might, she knocked the extinct monster off its feet and onto its face.

"Yield," commanded Wonder Girl as Jericho reverted his host's body to human form and crawled onto his knees. Chuckling, he made eye contact with his opponent and simply replied:

"No."

And suddenly he was in Donna Troy's body again, cracking his knuckles, ready for more.

"Great," grumbled Gar, "Just what I needed."

Meanwhile, the stalemate between Starfire and Ravager was still going strong.

_Starfire: "I was expending so much energy dodging the girl's attacks that I could not explode another Starbolt attack all around me, and whenever I fired one close range, she dodged it, as if she knew it was coming!_

_"Still, I had one idea left! One trained by the Warlords of Okaara does not go down this easily!"_

"Diediediedie_die_!" Rose attacked like the mad-woman she was, hacking away with no form or style, only reckless abandon. Koriand'r gave up trying to counterattack and focused on dodging now—as she evaded, however, she started building up Starbolt energy in the palm of her hand, letting it gather and grow, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Ravager saw it coming before Kory did, witnessing the attack in her mind's eye through her precognition. She nearly dropped her swords she stopped so suddenly, and just as fast she was running in the other direction. "No! You will not escape!" cried Starfire as she unfurled a storm of tiny Starbolts from her hand, a constant stream firing in a cone shape that covered so much space that there was no way Rose could escape in time.

The young martial artist flew into a wall beside her father. Chunks of her armor were missing and she was muttering groggily—out for a few minutes, at the least. Now Deathstroke and the alien warrior were staring each other eye-to-eye—the mercenary moved slightly, only to grab his bazooka, but he never took his eye off her.

However, Starfire was the one to break the stalemate. "I will deal with you in a moment!" she exclaimed as she burst into the air, then soared toward the energy disruptor that was keeping Speed out of the game. "First I have to help a friend!"

Slade aimed his weapon, but it was for naught. A beam of light suddenly tore through the building, dragging Kory outside just before her foot was able to smash the device. "It's about time you got him here," he grumbled into his comm-link.

"Sorry, sir," replied Wintergreen. "Next time I will be more punctual."

But Slade has already stopped paying attention. He was busy observing his son fighting Wonder Girl and Beast Boy—and preparing for what came next. If Dr. Light had arrived, then Cyborg wouldn't be too far behind—and he still didn't know what Robin and Raven were up to. They could show up at any minute, and he _needed_ to be ready for it.

Especially _Robin_. Sure, the others were dangerous, but Robin was the one who _humiliated_ him most of all, who taunted him and fought him to a standstill when he was just a mere _boy_. This time he, _Deathstroke_, would beat him down, cripple him, humiliate _him_, then end his pitiful life.

And after that, he'd make sure the rest of the Teen Titans and their friends received the same treatment.

Suddenly the mercenary was shaken out of his thoughts by the sound of Wonder Girl's punches landing. Gar fell, collapsing onto his knees, while Jericho hovered above him in his teammate's body.

_Beast Boy: "I finally figured it out! He gets in your body through your eyes! I could sense it earlier 'cause animals hate it when you make eye contact with them, but as much as I've been trying to ignore my animal instincts lately, it took me a bit to figure it out! Too long, but oh well, not too late!"_

Panting, the tiny green boy looked up and made eye contact with his opponent. He could feel Jericho starting to enter his body—and then he shrank. Beast Boy shrank into a toad, and the body-hopper went flying over the shapeshifter, having lost his contact.

"Thanks, Beast Boy!" exclaimed the now-free Wonder Girl, wasting no time as she was already spinning towards Slade. "I'm going after Deathstroke! Keep him busy!"

_Beast Boy: "Sure, like that'll be easy."_

"You're going down!" cried the half-Amazon as she soared towards the mercenary at full speed. If he was scared, he certainly didn't let on.

"Now now my dear, you should be more careful." Suddenly Slade sprang into the air, pushing off Donna's back just as she passed beneath him and using the momentum to somersault across the room. He landed besides his hostages and, in one swift motion, he unsheathed his sword and rested it against Terry Long's neck.

"After all, we wouldn't want anybody getting hurt, would we?"

"Terry!" Donna's heart sank into her legs.

_Wonder Girl: "Today was going to be the best day ever for Terry and me. Now he may die…could it get any worse?!"_

*****OUTSIDE*****

The side of Deathstroke's base, a rented building in San Francisco's bustling downtown, exploded as a streak of white-hot light threw the alien warrior Starfire through the wall and into the sky. Finally slowing to a stop, the living luminescence revealed itself to be the Titans' first enemy, Dr. Light!

_Starfire: "Light's arrival created many new questions, but in the heat of battle was no time to ask them! Besides, he was not talking and probably would not have answered them anyway, which for him was...odd, but probably fortunate. Since he can control my Starbolts and absorb my solar based powers, I need all my focus just to stay alive!"_

The Tamaranian lashed out with a roundhouse kick, but Light simply caught it, clamping down like a vice on her leg and grinning maliciously. White patches on his cybernetic suit lit up as he began sapping the solar power from her body, draining her strength in the process.

Desperate, Koriand'r screamed and unleashed her remaining power all around her, letting it detonate like a Starbolt nuke. Dr. Light was sent sprawling, but that was no problem for a man who could move as fast as light—as soon as he regained his bearings he dashed above his enemy and brought a tiny supernova to life in the palm of his hand. Thrusting his arm toward the ground, his attack became a beam that grounded Starfire, leaving her sizzling at the bottom of a smoldering crater.

In his alcove, Wintergreen was overjoyed at how well this was going—and at how pleased Slade would be with him. Playing with his controls, he made Dr. Light hover down low, only a few inches off the ground, with power focusing in both his hands. It was time to finish her off and move on to bigger and better Titans.

"Yo punk! Leave 'er alone!"

Suddenly a cybernetic hand was gripped tight to the mind-controlled villain's shoulder. Attached to the hand via a steel wire was the half-man half-robot Cyborg, and suddenly retracting the wire he pulled himself through the air at breakneck speeds, transversing the gap rapidly and driving his knee into his opponent's neck. "Sarah, check up on Starry!"

As Light tumbled across the asphalt, Cyborg's girlfriend, Sarah Simms, dashed to her beau's teammate. Kory moaned slightly as the blonde helped her to her feet, propping the larger girl across her shoulders. "It's okay Kory, I've got ya—and Vic's got us!"

"No..." As Starfire's vision re-focused, she saw something her saviors didn't. "Vic...look out! Light!"

Victor Stone's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he saw Victor Light calmly climb back onto his feet, apparently unharmed from his assault.

_Cyborg: "Damn, I guess this means I'm right...and I _really_ didn't wanna be right! But, there's no way somebody could've taken that hit and stayed conscious! Somebody must be controlling Light remotely!"_

"Don't worry Starry, I've got 'im!" assured Vic as his opponent lashed forward with a beam of focused light. "Solar armor activate!"

Suddenly Cyborg's robotic components started to glow, their silver color fading into a dark halo of black. Light's attack struck the Titan square in the chest, but he didn't budge—instead the attack splintered around him, eventually dissipating entirely. Dr. Light's face still betrayed no emotion, but Vic certainly hoped the man behind the curtain was utterly dumbfounded.

_Cyborg: "Remember way back after we fought Light the first time, an' Gar found me making a secret weapon to use against Light in my lab? Well, this is it! My light refraction armor creates a thin layer of energy around me that reflects Light's attacks, breakin' them up so they won't hurt me! So right now, defense ain't a problem!"_

Dr. Light responded by lopping off bright bombs like they were fastballs, but Victor charged through the barrage like a linebacker, tackling his opponent and instantly following up by releasing a flurry of missiles from hatches in his shoulders.

_Cyborg: "Now _offense_, that's a little more've a problem. Light can control my laser cannons and any of my other weapons that're light based, plus he can't be knocked unconscious since he's bein' used like a puppet, and I _won't_ kill him. Really narrows down my options!"_

White hot heat detonated around Dr. Light, alleviating the missile threat, but Cyborg didn't let up for a second as he charged through the lingering radiation and grabbed the not-so-good doctor by the neck, choking him. His arm folded back into his signature Sonic Cannon as electricity from his personal defense system started to crackle across his body.

_Cyborg: "Limits my options, yeah, but it don't mean I'm outta 'em! Light's powers come from his suit, so if I can't take down the man, I'll take down his tech!"_

Placing the barrel of his cannon against Light's gut, Victor released small sound waves combined with a quick surge of electricity. Within the villain's suit, minute, fragile circuitry shattered and died.

Vic dropped his opponent to the ground, and springing to his feet, Light attempted to fire off some attacks—however, nothing was happening! Growing exasperated, Light finally just socked Cyborg in the face. His blood flew, but the metal man didn't even budge.

"Come on now, did you seriously think that was gonna work?"

With no options left, Wintergreen shut down his remote control program, again leaving the shell of Dr. Light's body empty. It crumpled and fell to the ground like a ragdoll. Figuring out what was up with him could wait, figured Vic as he dashed to his teammate and his girlfriend. "Starry, you okay?"

"Feeling better by the second, Vic," replied Kory with a smile. "Thank you for your assistance!"

"No problem." Looking up at the gaping hole Starfire and Dr. Light had made in their quick tussle, he finally voiced that nagging question that was on both his _and_ Sarah's mind: "So, what the _hell_ is going on here, anyway?!"

All three were distracted by the sound of a window shattering. Far above them the fight had still been raging, and now a body was flying through glass, soon to be street pizza.

"There is no time to explain!" exclaimed Princess Koriand'r as she blasted into the air and toward the body. "Only to _act_!"

*****INSIDE*****

"I'll do whatever you want." Donna Troy's lips quivered as the words left them. "Please, just don't hurt him. I'll do anything, but don't hurt him!"

_Wonder Girl: "I never thought I'd ever say anything like that to a monster like Deathstroke, but sometimes there's just no choice. My principles mean nothing when he's ready to kill the man I love!"_

Indeed, across the room from the half Amazon was the deadly mercenary Deathstroke, his sword held to the neck of his hostage, Terry Long, who was also Donna's "secret" boyfriend.

"Very good, my dear," replied Slade, speaking in a disturbingly calm and composed voice. "I'm glad to see you won't be trying anything stupid. I would hate to have to decapitate him."

"Sure you would," spat Donna, venom in her words.

Her opponent chuckled, amused by her pain. "Of course I would. All that blood...It would be a real mess to have to clean up."

Wonder Girl had to bite her tongue to get through that one.

With all the commotion going on around him, Terry Long finally started to rouse. The last thing he remembered was standing up to Mr. Jupiter. The Titans' corrupt manager had hired Terry to test Donna's fidelity, but instead he'd simply fallen in love with the half-Amazon. He threatened to expose Jupiter, but before he could see his boss's reaction, he'd blacked out. Now, as his blurred vision slowly fixed itself and a throbbing pain came to life in his head, he saw a sword resting against his neck, held in the hands of the world's deadliest mercenary!

"Oh my _God!_" he exclaimed, startling his girlfriend but not even surprising his captor. He didn't know how, but he knew Jupiter was behind this somehow. _'Oh god,'_ he thought, _"How am I gonna get out of this?!'_

"Terry, stay calm!" Wonder Girl was fighting back tears. "It's going to be okay! As long as I do what he says, he's not going to hurt you!"

_Wonder Girl: "I don't know how he got his hands on Terry, but when this is over he's not going to _have_ hands anymore! Seeing my boyfriend captured, having to comfort him when he might die, I've never been through something so terrible, and I can't imagine how Terry feels! I'd give anything for this to be over! I'd give up ever trying to find out who my parents are, I'd even take his place!"_

His eye moving back and forth between the two teens, Slade added, "Maybe I won't hurt him, but that doesn't mean I can't hurt _you_, my dear. You'll do _anything, _remember?" Donna trembled, but the sociopath just went on. "But no matter what happens, none of you are leaving here alive. I will not allow it. So you might as well fight me, girl. Either way, he's dead, but maybe _you_ can survive."

_Wonder Girl: "The part of me that's an Amazon, a _warrior_, was tempted to take action, but the rest of me stopped myself. I can't play into his game, and I can't risk Terry's life. Robin, Raven, Cyborg, they're still out there, and the rest of my teammates are here. We can get out of this somehow. Terry _will_ be okay! I can't risk his life!"_

Deathstroke was the only one enjoying this situation. Causing pain to the Titans, playing cruel games with their minds, it was practically euphoric to him. "But, you won't. I know how capes think. You think your teammates will help, that you have some chance to survive this, so you _can't_ risk his life, but you're _wrong_. Dead wrong."

However, while Donna was fighting this line of thinking with every ounce of resolve she had, Terry was starting to believe it. It wasn't just because of Deathstroke—there was _Jupiter_ to consider as well. Even if Donna got him out of this, Jupiter would do something _else_. He would never let him threaten his plans, whatever they were.

Terry Long just knew it: today was the day he died.

He was scared, he felt regret. There were so many things he'd never done: he'd never seen the ruins of Rome, never graduated college, hell, he'd never even gotten laid! Still, he couldn't say his life was all bad, especially these last few months. He had a girl that really, truly loved him, and that was something many men were never able to gain.

He wanted to tell Donna everything, what Jupiter had done, what he had done, _everything_. But, if he was going to die, then he wanted to go out making her as happy as she had made him. Telling her everything would forever put doubt about him into her mind, it would ruin everything they ever had, and the last thing Terry wanted to do was hurt her _more_. Instead, there was one, simple truth that would make her night, that would let him die a _hero._

"Donna," he gasped, "Donna, I'm sorry."

"_You're_ sorry?!" Wonder Girl nearly buckled under the weight of her own guilt. "For what?! It's my fault you got involved in this!"

"No. Donna, I'm sorry about _today_. You told me you loved me, and it took me by surprise. I never thought a girl would say that to me, especially one as wonderful as you. I didn't answer, and I know it hurt you, and I'm sorry. But, I have an answer: Donna Troy, I love you!"

"Terry..." Biting at her lip, Donna barely managed to get out, "I love you too!"

_Wonder Girl: "Finally, he tells me what I wanted to hear...but why did it have to be under these circumstances?!"_

Slade Wilson frowned, somewhere beneath his imposing mask. He couldn't help but remember his ex-wife, Adeline. He remembered how she gave him the best times of his life. He remembered his wedding, the honeymoon, the birth of his children. And he remembered Joseph's throat being slit, Adeline shooting his eye out, and her dead body lying beneath his, the smoking gun that ended her life still in his grip.

"Love." Never before had one syllable been filled with such raw hatred and malice. Tightening his hold on his weapon, Deathstroke readied himself. "Believe me, I'm doing you two a _favor_."

In one swift motion Deathstroke span, and Terry's head hit the floor.

"TERRY!" Wonder Girl shot forward, but before he even landed Slade had already pulled a gun, firing a perfect head shot. Donna barely managed to deflect the bullet, and truthfully, she barely even wanted to.

_Wonder Girl: "I wanted to die. Hera, I still do. Terry is gone, and that bastard ruined it all! So as much as I wanted to die, I couldn't. Not before I did to Deathstroke what he did to Terry!"_

However, vengeance was going to be harder than Donna thought. The gun Deathstroke was now firing was specially made to combat Wonder Girl. It fired bullets faster than any gun of that size ever made, and it had three times the ammo. Extra packs of bullets were draped all over the mercenary's body, and with his lightning fast reflexes he replaced them before the last one was even empty, thereby ensuring a steady stream of super-fast fire.

Of course, he'd been hoping to take her out with the head shot, but he hadn't anticipated Wonder Girl's reflexes being so fast. Still, he'd wear her down. It wasn't even a matter of patience—after all, he was _enjoying_ this.

And just as he planned, Donna wasn't having an easy time. She landed on her feet with her arms already flying, making deflecting bullets look easy, but that didn't last forever. As her unbreakable Amazonian bracelets knocked some ammo to the right, another round ripped past her left arm, leaving several gashes across her biceps. She winced just for a second, just long enough for another slug to lodge itself in her other arm. She blocked a shot to her face, only for another to land in her stomach. She coughed up a little blood.

_Wonder Girl: "My stamina and even my durability are at superhuman levels, but I'm not _invulnerable._ If something is strong enough, fast enough, it can hurt me or even break my skin! A bullet isn't as destructive to me as it would be to a normal human, but they're still dangerous, especially the powerful ones! Obviously, Deathstroke's gun has power to spare!"_

Across the room Garfield Logan was still battling Jericho, but he was having just as hard a time.

_Beast Boy: "Hopeless, this all feels so...hopeless now. There's no way the shrinking trick is gonna work twice, and I can't fight this guy if I can't look at him, an' even without taking over my body, he's fast and he's _good!_ He's pushing me to my limits, and it's scary. And then there's Donna...I don't know who that guy she likes _is_, but Deathstroke _killed_ him! Matt could be next! Even Donna could be next, the way this is going! How am I supposed to win?! I'm surprised I can even move!"_

"Donna, I'm coming!" cried the tiny changeling, but the words had barely even left his mouth before he received Joseph Wilson's palm in his face, the mute's way of telling him it would never happen. Beast Boy became a green wolf, pacing circles around Joe, just barely avoiding his deadly gaze. Suddenly Jericho lunged, somersaulting with his leg extended for a full powered windmill kick. Gar just barely shrank beneath it, using the wind he kicked up to dodge above it as a flying squirrel.

Joe landed on his toes and immediately pivoted, tossing a handful of shuriken Gar's way. The Titan grew into a Great Heron and flapped above it, but the deadly projectiles just flew into the wall, missing Matt Logan by inches. The slacker screamed, and despite the balled up socks gagging his throat, the sound pierced every ear-drum in the room.

"That's it!" screamed Gar, resuming his human form in mid-air. "Pick on me, that's fine, but no way you're picking on my family!"

_Beast Boy: "When I fought Madame Rouge I let go of my human side and let my anger and my animal instinct take over, and I've been scared, I've been kicking myself over it ever since! But y'know what? I'm tired of it! Maybe I killed Rouge, but I saved Terra! I feel bad about it, and if I did that to this jerk I'd hate myself even more, but I'll feel even worse if Matt gets hurt! I've felt it before with my parents and with the Doom Patrol, and I can't anymore! I don't want to go through what Donna's going through, not again!_

_"So to save my cousin I'll go all out, use all my animal info, because I won't let him die!"_

Garfield landed as a wolf, growling primaly but standing still. Smirking, Jericho made eye contact and shot off towards his opponent in his astral form. Suddenly the green wolf shrank, changing shape, stretching and contorting and losing its spine until it became a jellyfish. Joey hit home, but did something he'd never done before—he bounced off his target!

_Beast Boy: "Jellyfish don't have eyes, sucker! You can't possess me!"_

The changeling shot forward, attacking savagely and rapidly, and changing form even faster. Jericho was punched by a gorilla, kicked by a kangaroo, pinched by a crab, pecked by a bald eagle, slashed by a tiger, and, just for good measure, humped by a Labrador retriever. Then he just disappeared, leaving Joe on the floor, searching for the strength to keep fighting. Suddenly he felt a tiny prick on his arm, and all that strength was gone. A green spider grew into Beast Boy.

"I bit ya as a Sydney Funnel Web Spider," he said with a wink. As Jericho grew groggy and then fell unconscious, the last thing he heard was, "Don't worry, it wasn't a big dose. You'll be fine for hours before we get the antidote in ya."

_Beast Boy: "Holy crap, I can't believe I did that!"_

Still, he wasn't out of the water yet—and with an enemy like Deathstroke, he needed all the allies he could get. Gar took the form of a buffalo as he charged across the room.

"No you don't!" Suddenly two swords were jammed into the mighty creature's back. Ravager pounced from above, still trashed from Starfire's assault, though she wasn't letting it stop her. "You're not gonna hurt my dad!"

Garfield bucked, knocking the girl off of his back. Still, his charge was pretty much done, and struggling, he took a few final steps before collapsing. Returning to his human body from pure exhaustion, the tiny boy was left with two gaping holes in his shoulder blades. Ravager was proud for only a second, before her precognition showed her that her father _wasn't_ Beast Boy's true target. "Oh s---."

That pretty much summed it up, because with his final step as a buffalo, Beast Boy had managed to shatter the energy disruptor that held the monstrously powerful Titan Speed at bay. The room lit up like lightning had struck as Speed reformed his body. He was angrier than he'd ever been before, and for Wally West, that was _saying something._

_Speed: "God, it's like war footage on TV or something, only, well...real! Gar's all torn up, Donna's getting mangled, Aunt Iris and Matt are tied up, that redhead kid's head is on the _floor_, and God only knows _what_ happened to Kory! This has gone far enough! Maybe I don't like all of these guys that much, maybe I don't think they deserve half of the praise they get, but none of them deserve this!"_

Kneeling over his green teammate, Wally lent speed to Gar's wounds, helping to quicken their healing process.

_Speed: "Still, I can't do a perfect job on them. Hopefully Raven can heal them the rest of the way...if she ever shows up. Today was _not_ the day for her to be AWOL, not that it surprises me."_

"Now to take care of you!" cried the speed specter as he burst forward, grabbed Ravager by the collar, and tossed her through the window. She didn't even have time to _scream_. "Next, Deathstroke!"

"No!"

Wally skidded to a stop, shocked by Donna's command.

_Wonder Girl: "Deathstroke killed the man I love. I might have been able to stop him, and I don't know if I'll ever feel stop feeling guilty about it. If I wasn't the one to take him down, I don't think I could have lived past it at all."_

"Let me do it, Speed!" growled the Titans' field leader, rage in her eyes. "Deathstroke is mine!"

Despite it all, Wally scoffed. "Yours? Please. You can't even move! Besides, you're not the only one with a claim to this guy! He kidnapped my Aunt Iris!"

"_Wally, _please! He killed the man I love!"

_Beast Boy: "Wait, I thought Kyle Rayner was the man she loved!"_

_Speed: "God, the one time I'm totally entitled to call her a whore and I can't do it! After all, I know how I would feel if he'd killed Aunt Iris instead, or Fran or hell, as much as I hate to admit it, even Raven! Not even Donna deserved this, not even her..."_

"Fine," grumbled the speed specter, "But you better have a good plan."

Slade wasn't sure if she did or not, but regardless he was seeing his plans fall to pieces around him. Jericho and Ravager were down, Wintergreen wasn't responding, and worst of all, Speed was free. On any other job this was the part where he would retreat, but not this time—not when his pride was on the line!

After all, he still had one ace left—his experience, his brain, and if he was to win, he'd have to rely on _them_ to win now. "You know she doesn't, boy," he snarled with his usual menace. "No matter what, none of you stand a chance: and you're worst of all, Ms. Troy. You're simply a scared little girl who can't handle a thing without her pathetic little boyfriend, aren't you?"

Deathstroke hoped he could psych her out, prey upon her already damaged psyche, but unfortunately for him, the words only emboldened Donna Troy. "No, you're wrong!" she cried as she suddenly gained speed, finally deflecting more bullets. "I am a warrior! I am an _Amazon!_"

_Wonder Girl: "And that's something I've been forgetting. I wanted to embrace my human side so badly that I was forgetting where I came from, forgetting what helped make me _me!_ The Greek Gods watched over and blessed all us Amazons, and for the first time in a long time, I entreated them with all my heart. I asked them for their blessings, for their strength to deal with this madness!_

_"And they didn't let me down."_

It was like new life was injected into Wonder Girl's veins. She picked up speed, moving like a blur as she ricocheted bullets left and right, and suddenly she just span, drilling through the floor beneath her.

"Awe...awesome," managed to spit out the mangled Beast Boy. Even Wally looked impressed.

Deathstroke ceased his fire and crouched down low, readying himself to respond with every ounce of speed he had the second she showed herself. Despite his prodigious speed and reflexes, it wasn't anywhere _near_ enough. In the blink of an eye he was carried through the roof and knocked far into the sky by a red, gold and blue streak.

"This is for Terry!" exclaimed Donna as she hurled a punch straight into his face, shattering his mask and, likewise, his nose. She ripped his weapons and ammunition from his body, letting them fall to the street below, then tore into him with a volley of martial arts strikes, fueled by the pure rage she felt. Honestly, it was the only thing keeping her moving at all.

"Hola!" she cried, accompanying the traditional Amazonian battle cry by striking her opponents neck with her fingers. Blood and spit flew from Slade's mouth as he freefell, completely helpless, but the Titan wasn't done with him yet. Not by a _long _shot.

Suddenly the golden cords of her magic lasso bound his hands, then his feet, then both together as she hogtied them behind his back. Still screaming cries of frustration, she ran the rope across his mouth and neck, pulling both backwards, before bounding the rest of his body so thoroughly that he looked like he was immersed in a golden cocoon.

Donna span him several times before tossing him back into his compound. Only a few seconds had passed for those still inside when Slade fell through the roof like a comet.

_Speed: "Hell, she had a good plan after all!"_

Wonder Girl floated down into the room slowly, the ends of her weapon wrapped around her wrist.

"Way...way to go, WG," smiled Gar as he slowly tried to pull himself to his feet.

"No!" exclaimed Donna as lightning sparked from the lasso. "It's not enough! Not enough for what he did to Terry!" Zeus' magical lightning exploded like a missile, sending her teammates flying and surging through Slade's body at an intensity that would have killed an enemy lacking his enhanced skills.

_Wonder Girl: "I wanted him to die, all I wanted was to kill him and make the pain go away! It's...scary really. I'd _never_ thought I would ever want to kill _anyone,_ and I'd always looked down at the so-called heroes who _would_ kill! But now...don't get me wrong, I still think killing is wrong...but I understand _why_ now. And despite that, I wish I didn't. I'd give anything for this all to just be a bad dream!"_

"Donna!" Starfire soared into the room through one of the broken windows, and the sight she was greeted with was like a knife to the heart. In her arms she held Ravager—she couldn't let her die, not when she knew Rose wasn't in control of her actions—and she nearly dropped the girl when she saw her friend. "Donna, stop it!"

_Starfire: "Perhaps that seems hypocritical, coming from me. I admit, I do not truly agree with Earth's ideas about killing, especially under circumstances such as this! But, Donna _does_. I know her, and she would never forgive herself if she killed Deathstroke! This was not about Deathstroke—I could not allow her to do this to _herself!_"_

"I'm not going to stop!" Tears dripped down Donna's cheeks. "He deserves this! He does!"

"And I agree!" interjected Koriand'r. "But you are Wonder Girl, and you do not kill! Do not throw away your code, my friend! Executing Deathstroke will not bring the man you loved back, and it will not bring him peace! He would be _pained_ if you threw everything away!"

_Wonder Girl: "As much as I didn't want to listen to her, I knew it was true. Deathstroke doesn't deserve to live, but by letting him, I make sure I never become what he is!"_

The lightning slowly died, and Donna dropped her weapon. Tears poured down her cheek as she fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Her teammates weren't very far off from tears themselves.

_Beast Boy: "Well, I guess we won...but it sure doesn't feel like it. Sometimes, being a superhero just ain't all it's cracked up to be..."_

With the action over and the battle won, finally the full weight of the situation hit home, smacking the half-Amazon silly. "I am here for you," said Kory, cradling her friend in her arms, tears flowing freely from her deep green eyes. "It will be okay..."

But Donna knew she was wrong. "No," she sobbed, "It won't...he's dead. Terry's dead, and nothing will ever be okay again..."

Next time: The Grieving Process


	20. The Grieving Process

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and are owned by DC Comics, and although the new interpretations and twists are all my own, I claim no credit for the characters.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 20: The Grieving Process**

**ROLE CALL:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

'_The Real World: Titans Tower'_ was a reality show based around the adventures of seven super-powered teenagers, taping their lives as they attempted to get along and fight crime together. Each Titan joined for a different reason: to find fame and fortune, to use it as a platform for their own views, to gain a family, or even simply to help those in need. Some have been a little disappointed, but most of the Titans found what they were looking for. Some, however, found even _more_.

Up until a few moments ago, Wonder Girl was one of those few, fortunate Titans. She joined the Teen Titans to gain resources she could use to find her birth parents, as well as to help herself rise above her sister's shadow. While those efforts were met with mixed results, she instead found something she didn't even realize she was missing: love. Her relationship with the intern Terry Long started off tentatively, but soon blossomed into a love that made her realize everything she was missing in life.

Terry was not only interesting, but was interested in _her_, something she often doubted Kyle Rayner ever was. But, as 'perfect' as Terry seemed, he had a secret that ended up costing him _dearly_. He had been hired by the Titans' corrupt manager, Mr. Loren Jupiter, to cause havoc in Donna's love life. He'd succeeded beyond either of their wildest dreams, but along the way Terry fell for Donna as well. When he threatened to reveal Jupiter's treachery, the manipulative director offered the boy up as a bargaining chip to Deathstroke.

Despite the best efforts of the Teen Titans and Wonder Girl, Terry was murdered at the hands of the psychotic mercenary. Now, the young Amazon wondered if anything would ever be okay again...

*****ON THE AIR—OUTSIDE DEATHSTROKE'S COMPOUND. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

Victor Stone, however, didn't know any of this. He had followed Dr. Light to the battle after the brain-dead villain had attacked his girlfriend, Sarah Simms. Now Light was defeated, Sarah was safe, and the half-robot was watching his battered teammate fly into the raging battle in the building above.

"What the hell is going on here?!" wondered Cyborg aloud.

"You mean you don't know? It's all over the news, man!" Turning around, Vic and Sarah were met with the sight of a red-head teenage boy, covered in crimson and black body armor and enough weaponry to fill an armory. Instead of a mask, sunglasses covered his eyes. He was Arsenal, Roy Harper, the ace archer, the weapon master, former sidekick, former member of Titans East, and currently a government agent. "Deathstroke kidnapped a bunch of your friends and family and is holding them hostage up there!"

Vic and Sarah's faces fell. "Well," mused the blond, "I suppose that's why they were after me then." Thinking for a second, she turned to her beau and asked, "So, does this mean I'm gonna constantly get kidnapped as long as I'm dating you?"

"A real man wouldn't _let_ you get kidnapped," flirted Roy as he raised an eyebrow, unable to resist a pretty face.

Grabbing on tight to Victor's metallic arm, Sarah growled in response, "Vic _didn't_ let me get kidnapped." The Titan couldn't help but to blush.

_Cyborg: "Yeah, definitely was flattered by Sarah defending me, but I _really_ didn't feel like breaking up any fighting, 'specially since I still thought there was a big battle goin' on upstairs. Beyond even _that_, I still had to figure out how Deathstroke got his hands on Dr. Light, not to mention what the hell _Roy_ was doing there!"_

"Enough, you two," grumbled the metal man. "So why're you here, Roy?"

Getting right down to business, Arsenal replied, "My bosses at the DEO want Deathstroke _bad_. He made a fool of them when he broke outta Belle Reve, and this time they want to make sure he never sees sunlight again."

"Yeah, 'cause they did such a great job keepin' him locked up _last_ time." Cyborg crossed his arms.

_Cyborg: "Seein' how easy it is for villains to break out of jail almost makes me wanna support Starry's view on dealin' with them. Almost..."_

Sighing, Roy explained, "Yeah, well apparently we underestimated him, and it seems like you guys did too. This time we're going hard core with the security, decking it out as extreme as it gets, keeping him in the DEO headquarters itself. With somebody like Deathstroke, what the hell _else_ is gonna keep him locked up?"

"Fine," acquiesced Victor, "We don't have time for this anyway. Let's get up there, and hash the rest out later!"

"One step ahead of ya, buddy," said Arsenal with a grin as he launched an arrow with a grappling line attached into the side of the building. "One step ahead of ya..."

*****INSIDE*****

The scene inside was not a pretty one. Deathstroke was hogtied in Wonder Girl's magic lasso, burnt and bruised beyond recognition. Amazingly though, he was still somehow slowly healing, and this regenerative factor was the only thing keeping him alive. His son Jericho was out cold, a small dose of spider venom coursing through his veins; the mercenary's daughter, Ravager, was just as bad off, so beat up she was literally exhausted beyond movement.

Iris Allen and Matt Logan were still chained to the wall, and between them was the body of Terry Long. His head, however, was on the floor, deep in a puddle of red. Speed was still trying to compose himself, and Beast Boy had two gashes in his shoulders to deal with. Yet, worst off was Donna Troy, not only covered in bullet wounds, but weeping profusely in the arms of her friend, Starfire.

_Beast Boy: "So, like I said, we won the battle, but we sure don't feel like winners..."_

"Terry didn't deserve this Kory," sobbed Donna, "He didn't...Deathstroke did...he's a monster..."

"I know," replied the Tamaranian.

_Starfire: "I prevented Donna from killing Deathstroke, but not because I did not think Deathstroke deserved it. I simply did not want Donna to do something she would later regret!"_

Slowly Koriand'r pulled herself away from the adopted Amazon and rose to her feet, her look of sorrow hardening into one of pure anger. Her eyes lit up fluorescent green as a Starbolt burst to life in her palm. "Believe me, I know. And while you cannot murder him, it does not mean _I_ cannot carry out the punishment Deathstroke deserves!"

Suddenly a red arrow flew past the alien's head, gaining all their attention. "Don't do it, Kory! I don't want to have to bring you in too!"

The Titans span to see Arsenal and Cyborg enter the room. "What is the meaning of this, Roy?!" exclaimed Starfire. "Do you mean to obstruct justice?!"

"No," replied the archer as he aimed his bow. "Simply to carry out the law. I don't like the guy any more than you do, but kill Deathstroke and I'll be forced to arrest you too."

"C'mon Starry," beseeched Victor. "There's been too much death here already."

_Cyborg: "Really, I don't know if I've _ever_ seen anything more devastating. I left Sarah downstairs 'cause I didn't want her hurt in the fight, and even though the fight was over, I'm still glad she didn't come up. She didn't need to see this—_nobody_ should've had to see this. Hell, I wish I could erase it from my memory myself..."_

"Fine," grumbled Kory as her attacks died and she crossed her arms. "You...are right, Victor. We need to focus on healing now."

"And getting everybody outta here," added the metal man as he pulled the restraints that imprisoned Matt from the wall, tossing them aside like scrap paper.

As Cyborg pulled the gag from the slacker's mouth, he gasped, "S---, _you_ saved _me_?!"

"It's not like I'd just leave ya' there," replied Vic with a shrug and a smile.

_Beast Boy: "Well, if there's one good thing that came outta this, it's those two getting along!"_

_Cyborg: "Hey, don't get the wrong idea, doesn't mean I _like_ the guy, but he don't deserve to be tied up like that either!"_

Wally, meanwhile, became a blur of gold as he lent speed to the restraints on his Aunt Iris, letting them rust away to nothing. "Aunt Iris, are you okay? Aunt Iris?!"

The fall from the wall into her nephew's arms finally awoke the reporter. "I'm fine, kiddo. Don't worry about me." Maybe Iris didn't know where she was or what happened, but she knew she was alive and unharmed, and in her line of work, she learned long ago that _that_ was what constituted "fine".

"Great," said the speed specter as he turned towards the exit. "Then let's get you back home and away from all of this!"

_Speed: "She's not going to stay in danger any longer because of me!"_

But as Iris West-Allen took in the sights around her, she knew she couldn't leave, not yet. "No, Wally, wait. I'll be fine, but your teammates, your _friends_, _they _need you right now!" She was greeted with an incredulous look of disbelief, but Wally put her down anyway.

_Speed: "Like hell they do. Even the Titans that_ _I _like_ aren't anywhere near as important to me as Aunt Iris is...but since she asked me to stay, I might as well do it._

_"But I really don't want to. I don't even know what I'm doing here anymore. I put Aunt Iris in danger just by being a Titan, and I can't forgive myself for that. I know she keeps telling me over and over that being a Titan is a good thing, but not if she gets hurt because of it! For once, I'm making up my own mind! It's gonna take a miracle to make me stay with the Titans..."_

"Hey," said Cyborg, suddenly realizing something, "Where're Dick and Raven, anyway?"

"I searched for them," replied Starfire, "But—"

"They didn't show up!" Suddenly Donna was on her feet, the fire within reignited.

_Wonder Girl: "All this time I've been blaming myself, worried that something I did let Terry get hurt, but what about them? Dick and Raven didn't even bother to show! This is there fault, all their fault!"_

"We called them but they didn't even bother to show up!" again screamed Wonder Girl as she lashed out in anger, punching the wall. Backed by her Amazonian strength, her fist went right through it, and the concrete crumbled around it. Behind the wall could now be seen an old man sitting at an amazingly complex computer terminal.

"There's the man behind the curtain!" exclaimed Victor. "That's the guy who was controlling Dr. Light!"

Springing into action, Arsenal let loose an arrow. As it drew close to Wintergreen a net exploded from the projectile's head, ensnaring Slade's right-hand man within its tangled ropes. "You're under arrest!"

"Fine, you've got me," grunted Wintergreen. "But the children, please, they're innocent! Let them go!"

"Bulls---!" called Donna. "They're Daddy's little troopers, they were the brunt of his attack! He just wants them out so they can break them out of prison again!" Wintergreen winced—it was a weak plan, but he hadn't expected to be called out that quickly.

Koriand'r, however, wasn't exactly on the same page. "Roy," she began, "Donna is correct. However, Deathstroke's children are not responsible for their actions! Their father has them addicted to mind control serum! They will do anything he asks of them! Please, they need help, not punishment!"

_Starfire: "I know Donna was not happy to hear that, but just as I believe in punishing the guilty, I will not stand by while innocents are persecuted!"_

Roy Harper winced like he was in pain. Once he had been an addict, and it was the worst thing he'd ever been through. To do that to somebody against their will, especially your _children_, he couldn't even imagine how somebody could do something so cruel!

"I'll make sure they're well taken care of, Kory," he replied. "It may take a while, but we'll detox them and see what they're _really_ like."

Slade Wilson was drifting in and out of consciousness, unable to even move, but he would _not_ stand for somebody taking his children away. "Keep away from my kids," grunted the mercenary, gathering what little strength he had for speech. "Take them and I will make sure all of you pay _dearly_."

"You are not in the position to make threats!" exclaimed Donna, enraged. "If _you_ ever try to hurt any of us again, I will make your life a living _hell_! I'll make you feel the pain _I'm_ feeling, I _swear_ it!"

As composed as ever, Slade simply replied by saying, "My dear, don't make promises you cannot keep."

*****NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA*****

High above the Big Apple's skyline dashed two costumed figures, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, concealing themselves within the city's dark shadows. One was a Teen Titan—Robin, Dick Grayson—on a mission to find out information about his teammate and prove himself a true detective. The other, a smaller boy who also called himself Robin, was the "teacher" in this lesson.

Finally both boys landed on a roof, and the smaller crime fighter signaled them to a stop, pulling a small device from his belt.

"So this is it?" asked his older counterpart. "This is the building where Wonder Woman found Donna?"

_Robin: "So as kinda my big final detective lesson, the little Robin an' I are tryin' to find out who Donna's parents are, since apparently she never knew. We've already traveled across the country, so what's a few more rooftops?"_

"Nope," replied the tiny detective, "But thirteen years ago that building was here. According to all the information we have, it burned down that night. Diana barely got Donna out before the whole building collapsed.

"Considering it was one of her first trips to our world, long before she became the Ambassador of the Amazons or even Wonder Woman full-time, she didn't know what to do with Donna and took her back to Themyscara to be raised as an Amazon."

Raising an eyebrow, Dick asked, "Then why the f---'re we _here_? There can't be any clues after this long!"

"It's as good of a place to stop as anyplace," chuckled his friend as he tossed the device to the other Robin.

"T'hell's this?"

"It links up with the super-computer back in our headquarters," replied the younger Robin. "If information exists in a data-base _anywhere_, it can get to it."

Dick's eyes grew to epic proportions. "Sweet!"

_Robin: "Man, think of all __the crazy porn you could get on this thing! I could have myself a helluva tiring night with this baby!"_

"Mind out of the gutter," said the Titan's friend with a knowing smirk. "You're _supposed _ to use it on—"

"I know, I know," interrupted Dick, waving his hand as a dismissal. "Look up the history of the old building and see what it was for. Maybe that'll give us some clues."

The acrobat's fingers flew across the device's keypad, bringing the screen to life. His counterpart peeked over his shoulder. "Don't forget to check everything. Reference all businesses, owners, residents, known criminal activity in the building, gang or mafia use, the history behind the building, _everything_."

_Robin: "Geeze, uptight much? I thought this was supposed to be my job?!"_

"Yeah, I got that," said the detective in training as information scrolled across his device, "But let's skip to the important s---. The building hadn't been used for a couple've years before it burned down—damn, it was s'posed to be knocked down a few weeks later anyway!"

Frowning, the younger Robin added, "Yeah, but empty buildings don't stay empty for long in this town."

"Got that right. Cops never figured out the cause of the fire, but the police records show a major crime syndicate was operatin' outta it at the time."

"Wow, you saying that almost sounded like me!" exclaimed his younger partner.

_Robin: "Alright, not bad! The kid's all mysterious an' stuff, like his boss the Batman, and that's how I've been aimin' to be lately. I don't wanna be the team screw up or some joke, and I can't be in the way 'cause I don't have any powers, so I dunno what other choice I have."_

"Is that a bad thing?" asked Dick playfully.

Shrugging, the other Robin replied, "I dunno." However, his expression didn't match his answer—he definitely had _some_ opinion on the matter.

Not always one for observation, however, the older Robin failed to notice. "Alright, let me figure out the next step!" Scratching his chin for a second, he ventured, "We find out if the gang's still running an' press 'em for answers?!"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Sweet," replied Dick, a grin filling his face. Cracking his knuckles, he made a suggestion: "Let's bust some heads!"

*****TITANS TOWER—SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

"So, that's it, that's the whole story…"

As the Teen Titans and their guests emerged from the Tower's elevator into the living room, Donna was hobbling, leaning on Starfire's shoulder. She was just finishing telling a story.

_Wonder Girl: "Today was supposed to be the day I introduced Terry to the rest of the Titans. I had it all planned: it was going to be wonderful, and we were going to make it work. Now look at it—he was introduced all right, and then killed!_

_"But, after all we just went through and everything I asked of my teammates, they still deserved to know all about Terry…"_

"That is quite a story, Donna," said Koriand'r in a comforting tone. "I wish I could have met him: he sounded wonderful." Behind the two, however, not all of her teammates were quite as touched.

_Speed: "God, it's lucky for her the guy just died, or else I'd be calling her a slut until her ears rotted! Her boyfriend's off somewhere and has no idea that she's been seeing some other guy behind his back, hell, for who knows how long! Was she expecting to hide it forever? Hell, let's see if she even owns up to it when he comes back."_

_Beast Boy: "Why do I have the feeling this is gonna end up as a Lifetime original movie? I'm just gonna stay outta it—I don't wanna be caught in the middle when Kyle shows up!"_

"She's a fast worker," chuckled the shapeshifter's cousin, Matt Logan. The slacker was the _only_ one smiling. "I'll have to get Donna to give me some _tips_!"

"Yeah, definitely a bad idea," yelped Gar as he tackled his cousin, a preventative measure sure to save a lot of heartache. "You might want to hold on, oh, I dunno, a few more decades before you think about askin' that."

"But he's right, she is a fast worker." Lagging behind the rest of the group was Vic, Sarah, and Roy. "And this explains a lot," continued the archer. "Now I know why she shot me down back when we fought the Brotherhood of Evil—she had two guys already!"

Rolling her eyes, Sarah interjected, "Or maybe she just wasn't into you?"

"But all girls are into me," winked Arsenal.

"_I'm_ not," replied Sarah with a huff.

Shrugging, Roy suggested, "Exception to the rule."

"'Kay guys, enough of this." Suddenly Cyborg pushed his way into the conversation. "Whatever Donna did, it's none of our business. She's been through a lot, and she's our friend, so we should help her through it. The rest of it, her and Kyle can figure out."

"Yeah, you're right," admitted Arsenal. "Look, I don't have to be back in Washington any time soon—care if I stick around? She _is_ my friend too. I'd like to help if I can."

Vic smiled. "Of course, man."

"Y'know," mused Sarah, "If she was cheating on Kyle, then there had to be problems to begin with. I mean, everything that happened today was of course terrible, but maybe, at least, they'll be able to figure things out because of it…"

_Cyborg: "Maybe…but I just wanna get her through _this_ first…"_

Dropping onto one knee, Starfire let her battered friend slide onto the couch. "Rest now, Donna. We shall make sure everything is okay…"

"True," said Cyborg, "But to do that I'm gonna need to get you all down to the med-lab. Just let me call up a gurney first."

"There is no need, Cyborg. Allow me to tend to the first aid."

Accompanying the disembodied voice was an explosion of bright blue, flashing like a strobe light as it filled the room. It engulfed the former hostages, healing their bruises. The gashes in Beast Boy's shoulders filled in, skin and muscle reforming as good as new. The shattered remains of Ravager's blades fell from Koriand'r's arm as a new layer of orange skin formed. Bullets popped from Wonder Girl's body as her numerous wounds disappeared.

Once the Titans had been fully restored, the wondrous light took the shape of a bird spreading its wings before collapsing into the middle of the room, revealing the dark empath Raven.

"Wicked awesome," marveled Matt.

Wonder Girl, however, wasn't as pleased. "Where were you?!" she screamed as, with her strength now back at its maximum, she shot into the air and slammed her teammate into the far wall. "Huh? Why weren't you here?!"

_Raven: "It was not easy to dispel that much pain at once, and I did not even receive a thank you. Instead, I was attacked. With the pain and anger and sorrow and confusion I felt from Wonder Girl I could forgive it, but I have the feeling I would have gotten the same reception regardless…"_

"You are greatly distressed, and not thinking clearly," stated the dark Titan as black seeped from her cloak, taking grip of Donna's costume and separating the two. "Allow me to help calm your emotions so we can work this out rationally."

_Speed: "Blunt? Yeah. Creepy? Hell yeah! But she's trying to help! I think she tries to hide it and would never admit it, but Raven does care deep down…she has to. And that's what keeps drawing me back to her no matter how hard I try to stay away."_

"I will _not_ calm down until you tell me where you were!"

Frowning, Raven replied, "I was at my birthplace, Azarath, visiting my mother. I am sorry I did not receive your alert, but it seems our communicators are unable to transmit across transdimensional barriers."

"Visiting family?!" Donna was appalled. "Some psycho was killing my boyfriend and you couldn't help stop him because you were _visiting your family_?!"

"Had your signal reached me I would have immediately come," insisted Raven curtly, "But as I said, it did not work. You cannot blame me for that."

Seething, Donna started to grind her teeth.

"But even if I had made it, I do not know how much help I would have been. Deathstroke had weapons custom tailored for each of you. Who knows what he had in store for me?"

_Raven: "The likely choice would have been an empathic stimulator, to jumble my emotions. And truthfully, that would only have made me a _threat_."_

_Cyborg: "Wait a second, how did she know what happened? She wasn't there!"_

Her point had been made, but Raven wasn't done. "I am sorry for what happened to your boyfriend, but it is not our fault and you should not be taking it out on everybody else!"

_Wonder Girl: "That was the last straw! As much as I didn't want to accept it, I understood why she didn't show up. But her apology was the fakest thing I've ever had anybody say to me in my whole life!"_

"Oh screw you!" exclaimed Donna. "You aren't sorry! I don't think you've ever empathized with _anybody_ before! I don't think you can feel anything at all! So don't lecture me, b----! Just leave me alone!"

Turning and storming into the hallway, the half-Amazon shouted over her shoulder, "All of you! Just leave me alone!"

_Wonder Girl: "I wanted Terry's death to be somebody else's fault, I wanted somebody to blame it on, but maybe I can't have that! Maybe it is my fault, but if it is I can't take having it thrown in my face anymore! I can't take any more lectures or fake sympathy or people who think they know what I'm going through! I've had enough of it!"_

"Heh, I guess that's that," said Gar, chuckling nervously.

"Yeah, it is," said Vic Stone definitively, crossing his arms. "Give her some space, _all of you_."

Starfire debated following anyway. "But, she is my friend, and she is hurting so…"

"She is, and you have a good heart to care about her so much." Suddenly the alien princess found Iris Allen's hand on her shoulder. "But this is a lot to go through. I know you want to fix everything for her, but in the end, the only one who can make things right is Donna herself."

_Speed: "That's my aunt Iris…smartest person I know!"_

"Maybe you're right lady, but I can't let her be alone in her room crying or something and not have somebody to talk to!" The door to the hallway slid open as Arsenal stormed through. "If she needs me, I'm gonna be there!"

Scratching his head, Beast Boy asked, "Should we try to stop him?"

"Why bother?" grunted Wally. "If he wants to get beat up that badly, let him!"

_Cyborg: "Wow. For once, I agree with Wally!"_

Meanwhile, Roy Harper was pounding at Wonder Girl's door. "C'mon Donna, open up! I just want to help!"

Suddenly the door slid open, and standing behind it was Donna, her eyes red, tears and make-up running down her face.

"Donna…I…"

Not giving the ace archer a chance to speak, Donna grabbed him and pulled him close, pressing their lips together and lighting up Roy's world. She didn't let up, and slowly she pulled him back into her room, the door sliding shut behind them…

*****THE LIVING ROOM*****

While the drama that had just dropped was by now pretty routine to the Teen Titans, their guests were a little more surprised. "Wow," said Iris Allen, "You told me things got pretty intense here, kiddo, but I didn't realize it was _this_ bad."

Slumping besides his aunt, Wally West sighed. "Maybe never quite this bad before, but it's pretty damn close to a normal day, yeah. I guess now you see why I want to leave…"

"You want to leave again?"

"I guess." Wally seemed unsure of everything he was saying, like he was waging a war within his head. "I mean, I can't take the drama, and worse than anything else is that me being a Titan put you in danger! It could've been you that was killed, and it would've been my fault!"

Noticing the hesitation in her nephew's voice, Iris baited, "…But…"

"But, then there's…" Pausing, the speed specter just looked across the room to his teammate, Raven.

_Speed: "Her. Dammit, it always comes back to her."_

"What is it about her that you like so much, Wally?"

Trembling, the boy wasn't sure how to reply to that.

_Speed: "I've said a lot of things, a lot of reasons why I love Raven and why I hate her, and all of it, it's just been me trying to figure out the answer to that question. But honestly, I can't put words on it—it's this feeling down in my gut that won't let go no matter how much I try to forget her, no matter how much I try to hate her! So really, I guess the only _real_ answer to the question is…"_

"Everything, Aunt Iris," replied Wally with a nervous chuckle. "Everything…and yet nothing."

Really, there was nothing left for Iris to say. She just put her arm around her nephew and rested her head on his shoulder. If his brittle shell of a body disconcerted her, she certainly didn't let on.

"Listen kiddo, don't worry about my safety. If you leave the Titans, it can't be about me. You know I love you Wally, and you know I'll always be here for you, but I've watched you teeter back and forth on this issue for months now. Whatever you decide, don't do it for me or for anybody else: do it because it's what _you_ want to do."

Wally just stared at her, jaw agape.

_Speed: "But the reason I've always come to her for advice…is because I never know _what_ I want to do…"_

Suddenly a bright light came to life in the middle of the room, interrupting their conversation and those of everybody else in the room. A white beam with shimmering streaks of yellow and blue appeared and then faded even faster, revealing within a boy in his very early twenties, wearing a white, black and green costume with a green mask and energy ring.

He was Kyle Rayner, a Green Lantern, a member of the Justice League, and Wonder Girl's boyfriend—whom she had cheated on by dating Terry Long. He couldn't have picked a worse time to show up if he'd tried.

_Beast Boy: "Well, that seals it: the gods of karma officially hate Donna."_

"Woah," laughed Matt, "It's the Green Lantern dude! Since when could you just 'poof' in like that?!"

Kyle Rayner sighed. "It's just the Justice League teleporter…I really didn't wanna wait any longer than I had to to come see Donna." Looking at the slacker for a second then shaking his head, the lantern continued, "Has he been staying here ever since I left? I mean, you guys gotta have the patience of _saints_ to put up with that!"

"No he hasn't," said Cyborg, almost laughing. "Fortunately."

"Kyle!" Starfire shot across the room and wrapped her arms around the space cop, nearly knocking him off his feet. "It is so good to see you again! Tell me, how did things go with my sister?"

_Beast Boy: "Oh yeah, that's right…last time Kyle was here was when Kory's sister tried to kill us! Man was she a witch! With what she did to Matt she almost put me off girls altogether…until Tara came around."_

"They _went_," laughed Kyle. "There were so many charges up against her from so many worlds that there was no way she wasn't getting convicted."

Princess Koriand'r looked a little sad. "Oh."

_Starfire: "Do not get me wrong, after what my sister has done she deserves her punishment. It is just…she is still my sister, and it pains me that it has come down to this…"_

"Keep an eye open, though," continued the Green Lantern. "Blackfire swore vengeance against all of you."

_Starfire: "Yes, that is my sister…I suppose she will never change."_

"Now, where's Donna?" asked Kyle, his face lighting up at the thought of the adopted Amazon. "A guy shouldn't have to go this long without seeing his girlfriend!"

Vic and Gar both immediately clamped their hands over Matt's mouth, but nobody there could really think of anything to say beyond random stuttering.

The Green Lantern didn't have the patience to wait for their answer anyway. His ring had already searched the tower and located Wonder Girl. "Eh, don't worry about it, guys! I know where her room is!" Kyle shot out the door in a blur of green.

"Okay, should we be following him," asked Beast Boy, "Or is this another one of those 'let's stay outta this' times? I really can't tell."

"Stay out of it," quickly answered Wally West. "Those two are going to have to sort things out _sometime_, so they might as well get it out of the way now."

However, Raven had a contrary opinion. "Normally I would agree with you, Speed," said the empath, "But from Wonder Girl's room I sense her grief and anger masked by passion and euphoria…and not just hers…"

"Oh no," lamented Cyborg, "Roy, you _idiot_!"

*****OUTSIDE WONDER GIRL'S BEDROOM*****

Kyle was still grinning as wide as he could as he soared out of the elevator and down the hallway to Donna's room. His ring created a giant green fist that knocked on the door. "Hey Wonder Chick, guess who! I'm back!"

From behind the door, however, the boy heard nothing. Then, a few moments later, what sounded like a cry came from within the room. Then, a louder one. _'She must be in trouble!'_ thought the Lantern frantically as his ring created a giant crowbar. "Don't worry Donna, I've got you!"

But as his construct pried open her door and Kyle dashed into her room, he realized that his girlfriend _certainly_ wasn't in any danger.

Meanwhile the Titans and their guests stampeded into the bedroom hallway, but they were just a few seconds too late.

"DONNA, WHAT THE F--- IS GOING ON HERE?!"

The group sighed and stopped in their tracks. "And here comes the drama," moaned Beast Boy as he dropped onto his butt.

Green light flashed from within the Titan's room, and a second later Arsenal flew through the door, buck naked, smashing into the wall and falling to the floor.

"Roy, _dude_," called Gar, "Keep your arrow in its quiver! Nobody wants to see that!"

_Beast Boy: "Seriously, ew!"_

Another blast of green sent Arsenal's costume and weapons flying into the hallway, with Green Lantern right behind them, two futuristic gun constructs floating at his side. "What the hell is going on Harper?!" fumed Kyle. "She's my girlfriend!"

"Wasn't…my idea…" grumbled Roy as he tried to pull himself to his feet.

"Liar!" Kyle's ring lit up, but suddenly Donna was behind him, a blanket draping her naked body, grabbing his arms.

"Leave him alone, Kyle!" she frantically screamed. "He's telling the truth!"

_Wonder Girl: "Sleeping with Roy was the stupidest thing I've _ever_ done! I guess…I was tired of hurting and tired of feeling guilty and tired of trying to find people to blame. I saw Roy there at the door, and I knew he liked me, that he wouldn't put up a fight…and I just decided to let go and embrace something other than the pain of losing Terry. And it felt good…until Kyle came knocking on the door. Then what little world I had left just fell apart._

_"Hera do I wish I could take it back…"_

"He's telling the truth?" Green Lantern just couldn't grasp the idea. "But that means it was your idea…"

"It was, Kyle!" Tears started to leak from the corners of the adopted Amazon's eyes. "But Roy was just a rebound, he means nothing to me!"

From his spot on the floor where he'd managed to pull on his boxer-briefs and muscle shirt, Roy Harper chuckled. "Man, if I had a dollar for every time I heard that…"

"Stay out of this!" roared Kyle before returning to his girlfriend. "Rebound? You're not making any sense! Last _I_ heard we were still together!"

"Yeah, but you've been gone for months!" Wonder Girl's pain and regret was again quickly being lost in her unquenchable anger. "And that's just it—you're never here! You don't know _what_ goes on in my life!"

"I know, Donna, but I'm a Green Lantern! It's kinda my job! I mean, you're a superhero too, I thought I finally found someone who understood the sacrifices she'd have to make!"

Frustrated, Donna countered, "But that's just it! I'm always the one making sacrifices! I do understand how important your job is, but you could still take a day off here or there to do something with me!"

Her boyfriend tried to interject, but Donna was on a roll now. "But you know what—I don't think you _want_ to do things with me! You don't like me, you just like the _idea_ of me! You like having somebody to make you look good, to boost your ego as you explain the world to her, to sit here and worry about you while you fly around the galaxy, but guess what Kyle—I'm not that person anymore!"

"Donna," Kyle stuttered, "I…I…"

"Save it, Kyle. While you were gone I found somebody else. I didn't like him at first—in fact, I barely _tolerated_ him—but he was interested in _me_, he made _me_ feel special! We had real conversations about real subjects, not just one of us going on about nothing while the other listens and nods their head!

"His name was Terry Long and I loved him, Kyle. And today…today Deathstroke killed him."

_Wonder Girl: "When I decided to tell the Titans about Terry I knew I'd have to tell Kyle…but this is not how I planned it at all. I didn't want to hurt him, actually, I was hoping we could stay friends once it all blew over…but this? No, this isn't how I wanted to tell him at all, yet, here I am, telling him everything he did wrong and throwing Terry in his face. I feel so dumb today!"_

Green Lantern's face fell, his heart sank, and color drained from his skin. "I…I didn't know you felt that way, I wish you would've _told_ me Donna, I mean, how could you, how could it come to this…" Nearly in tears himself, he could think of nothing else to say. "I love you."

_Wonder Girl: "Great Zeus, that was definitely not what I was expecting, and I can't handle it, not now. Now when I just chewed him out so badly!"_

Biting her lip the Titan sobbed, "No Kyle, please, don't say that. I can't handle it now, can't handle this discussion, can't handle _you_—"

"So what, I'm just supposed to let this go because you don't think you can take it?" A nerve had been struck. "Donna, I do love you, and that's why it kills me to see you hurt this bad, but you _cheated on me! Twice!_ I'm pretty overwhelmed here too, but I can't just let this go!"

"Well you have to!"

Frowning, Kyle used his ring to signal his Justice League teammates to activate the teleporter. "Then I guess there really is nothing else left to say, is there? Over two years and it comes to this." Wonder Girl's continued cold shoulder just caused the Green Lantern to laugh in disbelief. "Screw this, and screw _you_. I'd say it's over, but what's the point? Apparently you decided that months ago."

And then the boy was gone, snatched away just as he'd arrived.

_Wonder Girl: "I never thought he'd be that hurt, that he cared about me as much as he did…to say this isn't my day would be an understatement. But you want to know the worst part of it all? I'm starting to think that maybe I deserve this, that maybe it's my punishment for cheating on Kyle. I'm sure half of my teammates would probably agree with that._

_"But if so…that's just worse. Terry didn't deserve to pay for my crime."_

Left alone, still covered in linen sheets and tears both dried and fresh, Donna Troy just stared at her teammates and their friends. She couldn't face them. "Leave me alone! For real this time!" she cried as her door slammed shut behind her.

"Well," nervously cracked Arsenal as he finished putting on the last of his weaponry, "Looks like I should've listened to her the first time."

"Yes," sternly agreed Cyborg, "You should have. And now you should be leaving."

_Cyborg: "I don't like being leader—I already worry 'bout everybody too much without havin' the extra responsibility—but I'm told I'm damn good at it. So, with Donna acting the way she is, I had to step up, at least for a little while._

_"Besides, even if he was just tryin' to help, I can't say I feel bad for Roy."_

"Yeah, no disagreement here man," sighed Roy as he walked towards the elevator. "I'll let myself out." As the doors closed, with his head hanging low, the ace archer softly added a quick but sincere, "Sorry."

_Speed: "Eh, I don't care if he was sorry or not, or really about Roy at all at this point—hell, _or_ Donna. This stuff with Kyle isn't like Terry getting killed—she brought this on herself! No, I was just thinking about how today Donna ruined three chances at love, three chances she might never get back._

_"And that's when I made up my mind. Finally, I knew what to do!"_

"Really, we should all be gettin' outta here anyway," continued Vic. "None of us need to stay around all this grief any longer than we have to."

"Agreed," said Raven as her cloak started to writhe as if alive, no doubt preparing to teleport her back to her room. "After all that anger and disbelief and sadness and conflict I am nearly burnt out. I need to meditate before these emotions take a further toll."

"Raven, wait!"

A stunned silence fell over the entire group as Wally stood there, arm outstretched, beseeching the dark empath.

_Speed: "Usually I've always cornered Raven when I tried to win her over, but this time I don't care. If she shoots me down I won't have any reason to stick around anyway, so I might as well let the others be witnesses, y'know?"_

"What is it, Speed?"

_Raven: "I could sense a resolute confidence from Speed, yet, at the same time, I still felt his usual misplaced affection for me, so although I asked, I was nearly certain of what he wanted anyway…"_

"It's _everything_, Raven," replied the speed specter, "So I'm just gonna lay it all out. I love you, and you know it. For _months_ I've been trying to make it work, trying to convince you to just give me a chance, and you've done nothing but shoot me down. So I've tried to hate you, but that's just the thing—I have to _try_ to hate you, but I never have to try to love you. Hell, I can't _stop_ doing that!

"So please Raven, just hear me out. I have no reason to stay here now. My Aunt Iris nearly _died_ today because I'm a Teen Titan, and being a Titan isn't worth losing her! So please, give me a g--damn reason to stay here! Don't let us end up like Donna! Don't let us lose this opportunity, 'cause we could be so great together if you'd just give me a chance for once!"

_Beast Boy: "Wait a second—Wally loves _Raven_?! Double ew!"_

_Raven: "Within Speed was a desperation stronger than any I had ever sensed from him before. It made me realize that his feelings were not going to subside—they would only get worse. So, I was forced to reveal a truth I would have much preferred to let remain hidden…"_

"Speed, I…I have a confession to make." Raven could feel Wally growing optimistic, only making what she had to say harder to say—but she carried on anyway. "You do love me, but not because of who I am. You love me…because I made you love me."

The speedster's face fell. "Wait…_what?!_"

_Cyborg: "And that was the first sign things were about to get bad…again. I wasn't taking any chances with Wally anyway, so fast as I could I sent out a message. It was time to go ahead with our plan for Wally…'cause otherwise we may never get another chance."_

_Starfire: "I consider Raven my friend, and I often see that what she does, she does with good intentions even when others are blind to that, but in this situation…she has really crossed a line. I am not sure _what_ to think of this…"_

"It was after your confrontation with Flash and the Justice League, the first time you quit the team," explained the empath. "I was afraid that you would not return, that you would let your anger consume you. I could not think of another way to attract you to the team, except to make you love me."

"Really? You're serious?" Wally was dumbfounded. "I can think of a few _dozen!_"

"I thought being with the Titans would help you reach out and love other people, to overcome the romantic attachment to me I created, and to help you overcome your rage, but I suppose I was wrong on both of those."

"Oh, you have no idea!" shouted Speed. "All you've done is make my life a living hell, made me question everything I did and felt and now you tell me none of it was ever even real?!"

"It was real, Speed," claimed Raven, "I just created the emotions. If you wish, I can remove them, return you to normal—"

"NO!" Before anybody could stop him the speed specter charged into a punch that knocked Raven into a wall. "Stay _out_ of my head! I don't need you screwing up my life anymore than you already have!"

Fuming, looking around the room, he continued, "Hell, that goes for all of you, for this whole f---ing team! It's over!"

"Wally, hold on!"

This time it was Cyborg doing the beseeching, and Speed was much more reluctant to wait. "What, is this gonna be some crap about how I have to stay with the team so I can learn to live with this, so I can be a hero and help people or something? It sure as hell better not be!"

_Speed: "Those lines are the most frustrating things I've ever had to sit through, so of course everybody and their freaking mother uses them!"_

"No, it's not," insisted Victor, "In fact, it's the opposite. We never should've pushed you the way we did, man. I was hoping you could learn to live with your new body like I did mine, but everybody's different, and I should've respected your limit—we _all_ should've."

Crossing his arms, Wally wasn't convinced. "What are you trying to say?"

Suddenly a breeze blew through the tower, nearly knocking the Titans and their guests off their feet. It was accompanied by a red and gold blur, and when it finally came to a stop, it revealed itself to be the man Vic had summoned: the Flash, the fastest man alive!

Of course, the Flash wasn't Wally's favorite person. "YOU?!"

Flash, however, took it all in stride. "What Cyborg's driving at, Wally, is that we've figured out how to get your body back!"

Wally was speechless.

_Speed: "Finally, just when I thought this day couldn't get any worse, it gets better!"_

*****NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA*****

Two figures stood on an empty rooftop, their capes flapping in the wind as they cautiously peeked through a skylight. Inside the building was nearly a dozen men in suits carrying semi-automatics, gathered around a table.

"So, you sure this is the place?" asked Dick Grayson, the Teen Titan known as Robin. "This is where your super-special computer says they're at?"

"Yup," replied his friend, a younger boy also called Robin. "That's the gang that used to operate out of the building Donna was found in. Now we just have to hope one of them was still part of the mob that long ago."

Smiling, Dick said, "Well, we ain't gonna find out if we don't get in there and start kicking some ass an' asking some questions, right?" Several disks of explosives fell from his belt into his hand. "Let's solve this mystery! It's time to find out who Donna Troy's parents are!"

Next time: Who I Am


	21. Who I Am

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and are owned by DC Comics.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 21: Who I Am**

**ROLE CALL:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed**—Wally West: A bitter, living embodiment of the mythical Speed Force.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Honest, caring newcomer to Earth capable of flight and generating energy blasts.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

*****ON THE AIR—NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA*****

Two boys stood atop a tall building, staring through a skylight at a room full of armed goons. The younger one, known only as Robin, the mysterious partner of the Batman, just looked at his friend, waiting for him to make his move. The older boy was also called Robin—he was Dick Grayson, an acrobat, detective in training, and a Teen Titan. In his hand were four explosive disks.

_Robin: "Man, before I was a Titan I had the biggest crush on Wonder Girl. Posters all over my trailer and everything! Even after I joined the team it took me a while to get over it—didn't matter that she was a b----, cause she sure was a damn hot b----!_

_"But ever since I've been datin' Kory, it kinda went away. I got over it. But she's still my teammate, and hell, I guess my friend too, even if she'd never admit it. So yeah, I guess I'm not just doin' this so I can be a kick-ass detective, or for all brownie points I'll get—I'm doin' this cause Donna's my friend."_

Moving stealthily, Dick placed a disk at each corner of the skylight's foundation. Each time he turned back a band around the disk's perimeter—it was a timer, giving them less than a minute before they all ignited. "You ready?"

"Of course," replied his young namesake as he opened a pocket in his utility belt and let a handful of tiny silver pellets fall into his palm.

_Robin: "So anyway, the little guy figured out that Donna didn't know who her real parents were. So I'm not going into the reasons why _again_, but we're obviously on the case like I'd be on a hot honey. We dug up some info on the building Wonder Woman found baby Donna in, and saw a gang used to run outta it before it burnt down. Well, that gang's down in that room right now, so looks to me like it's time to beat some answers outta 'em!"_

Sure enough, the disks detonated right on schedule and sent shards of glass and chunks of concrete flying through the air. Before the mobsters could even react the silver pellets hit the floor and unleashed at least a dozen plumes of smoke, filling the room and completely eliminating visibility.

That wasn't a problem for the two Robins, however. With gas masks on, both boys leapt through the shattered hole, their capes flapping behind them.

_Robin: "G—damn is this a f---ing rush, always has been, even when I was a kid on the trapeze with mom an' dad. But I dunno…lately it just hasn't been as _fun_. Yeah, I didn't try hard enough at first, but then I really pumped up my training, and it looked like it'd be enough—until Flamebird. If I'm gonna be a real hero I can't just be some lucky f--- up, I've gotta be serious. And if I've gotta be as dark as Batman to help my team, I'll do it!"_

Batarangs and Redbirds soared from the boys' gloved hands with pinpoint accuracy, knocking most of their opponents' weapons right from their grip. The two Robins each landed atop a mobster's head, slamming their faces into the floor. Dick sprang backwards as soon as he touched ground, spinning into a somersault and sending several more disks flying from mid-air.

As the projectiles filled the room with explosions and icy shards, the acrobat landed on his hands and span into a full circle helicopter kick that scattered several goons easily.

His young counterpart, meanwhile, lashed out with a bolo, ensnaring one of the thugs within its tangled ropes. However, in the meantime he was rushed from behind, and quickly found himself caught within the brute's grip. The boy just grinned, however, as he expertly broke free from the submission hold and sent his elbow backwards into the older man's groin. As he howled in pain, Robin grabbed his arms and hurled him over his shoulder, using him to stop another mobster dead in his tracks.

Right beside him, Dick span through the air like he could fly as he delivered a roundhouse kick into his opponent's face. Before he could even land he lashed out with several precision strikes to pressure points that left the thug numb and on the floor, temporarily paralyzed.

And that was that—as the smoke cleared, the two Robins were just left to admire their handiwork. "Nice job," smiled the younger crime fighter, "_I_ haven't even really gotten the hang of pressure points yet!"

"Eh, not that hard," shrugged Dick. "After your boss used 'em on me I didn't rest till I figured 'em out too."

_Robin: "After the way Batman made a fool outta me with 'em, I just wanted to return the favor!"_

"Anyway," continued the Titan, "You leave one of these guys conscious to question? Cause I sure didn't!"

Grinning, his friend replied, "Of course," and pointed towards the thug bound within the bolo.

"Sweet," smiled Dick, "I think I got just the way to make 'im crack…"

*****THE ROOF*****

While still ensnared within the steel wires of the bolo, the one thug who had been left conscious now found his feet bound as well. This time, however, the wire came from Dick Grayson's grappling launcher, the other end tied tight around a gargoyle on the roof's edge, letting the mobster dangle helplessly.

As the blood rushed to his head he watched the two Robins peer down at him. Dick leaned over the roof's edge, staring down his captive intently. His young friend, however, was more interested in watching the detective-in-training and seeing what he would do next.

_Robin: "Sweet, my first interrogation! This is so cool! Course, couldn't let everybody else see how excited I was—nope, I was cool as could be!"_

"Alright," growled Dick, "I have some questions, and you're gonna answer 'em!"

His captive raised an eyebrow, then laughed out loud. "Why the hell would I do that, kid? We've all seen your show—we know you can't kill us!"

"Doesn't mean I can't make you hurt." The Titan calmly pressed a red button on the side of the grappling launcher, and suddenly the thug found himself hurtling towards the ground at full speed.

Robin couldn't believe it. "Dick, what are you—"

"Calm down, little guy," interrupted the older Robin, "I've got it all under control."

_Robin: "I mean, seriously, I wouldn't actually hurt the guy! I just needed to scare the answers outta him! I don't have some magic lasso or even a lie detector, so what else can I do but be bad cop?"_

Dick pressed another button and the rope pulled taut, stopping the mobster's fall just centimeters from the ground. Slowly it retracted and again pulled him towards the two crime-fighters. "So," asked the acrobat, "Ready to answer my questions yet?"

"Hell no," growled the gangster—but both Robins could see that he was shaken, and covered in sweat.

"Fine," shrugged Dick, "I can do this all night, y'know." With a press of a button the criminal was again plummeting, and this time his scream echoed through the streets.

As he pulled his hostage up for a second time, Dick pulled out his young partner's computer and, turning it upside-down, showed it to the thug. "This address, know anything about it?"

Shaking, the thug still didn't want to say anything. He knew what his bosses did to squealers, no matter how minor the information.

Sighing slightly, Dick again moved to let him drop, but stopped as Robin suddenly intervened. "We know you guys used to operate out of that building," said the young boy, not wanting to see even a criminal dropped again. "There's no point in keeping quiet."

"Yeah!" added the older Robin, letting his true self shine through, if only for a second. "That building was destroyed in a fire thirteen years ago—what happened?!"

The thug's eyes grew big. "The fire? S---, that fire's a legend—everybody knows about it!"

_Robin: "Except for us, apparently—figures."_

"Well? What happened?!"

"Hell, nobody knows for sure—I've heard a million different versions of the story. All I know for _sure's_ that it involved a rival family, and that our leader and the other guys' boss both got killed cause of it!"

Frowning, Dick turned to the computer and typed in some information. "Alright, his story checks out—both the leader of this mob and of their biggest rival died that night. Looks like the rival boss had a wife—and I got her address!"

"Wow," marveled the younger crime-fighter. "Great idea! Now _that's_ how a detective thinks!"

"Hell yeah," replied the older Robin with a cocky grin. "Now let's get going!"

"Wait!" cried the thug, still hanging precariously upside-down. "I answered your questions—help me!"

Not even pausing for a second, Dick replied, "Hey, I never said I'd let you up."

_Robin: "Now _that's_ badass. Once word gets around 'bout this, I shouldn't have any problem next time I gotta get some answers from somebody! Nobody wants to be left hangin' from a building!"_

Despite the Titan's dismissal, however, the mobster suddenly found himself being pulled back onto the roof by the younger Robin. "Don't get too excited," warned the Batman's partner, "The cops are already on their way."

But the tiny detective wasn't worried about that thug or the cops. Leaving the criminal still bound, he took off after the Dick. _That's_ who had Robin stressed. None of this was like him, and a grim and gritty Dick Grayson…it just wasn't right!

*****OFF THE AIR—LOREN JUPITER'S OFFICE. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

"What were you _thinking_?!"

Mr. Loren Jupiter, corrupt manager of the Teen Titans, was not happy—not one bit. His day had started out fine enough, having turned the untimely arrival of Deathstroke to his advantage, but quickly things went sour.

"I didn't ask you to make Wally stay on the team just for you to _tell him_ and let him leave! No matter what Cyborg has in store for him, you need to make sure he stays!"

Across the darkened room floated one of the Titans, the dark empath known as Raven. For reasons unknown, she has been acting as Jupiter's mole within the group, but today her actions let him down.

"Speed _had_ to be told," insisted Raven. "I could feel that he had truly reached his breaking point this time—had I not revealed my manipulation to him, he would have left of his own accord anyway. This way, your viewers get a show out of it as well.

"If you truly wish for me to manipulate Speed further, however, I will do so. But be prepared—his frustrations will only boil within him even moreso than before. I cannot guarantee I will be able to control or even stop him after that."

Frustrated, Jupiter countered, "Yes, yes, that doesn't sound good at all…but still, even though you lied about your motives, this could still lead back to me somehow—and that's the _last_ thing I need!"

"Why?" asked Raven. "You told me yourself that it is time for your end stroke—by the time our plans would be uncovered, it would be far too late to do anything about it."

Sighing, the fashion impaired director had to admit his dark cohort was right. "I suppose you're right—and even if they did find out, it's certainly nothing I'm not prepared for."

Smiling, he span in his chair towards a computer keyboard and brought a profile to life on the screen. "Just like I've been preparing this whole time, just in case something like this would happen to Speed or _any_ of the other Titans! If he really does leave, well, I've got a plan…"

*****ON THE AIR—CYBORG'S LAB, TITANS TOWER*****

A large area of Victor Stone's immense research lab had been converted into a Speed Force study center, consisting of a huge computer system attached to several screens and monitors, and, strangely enough, a treadmill.

_Cyborg: "When I first met Wally, he reminded me a lot of me right after my accident. I was bitter, angry at everybody. I alienated all my friends and family, and it was a long, hard process to work it all out. I was hoping I could spare Wally all that and help him through losing _his_ humanity, but turns out I was wrong._

_"When I saw what Brother Blood put him through, I finally figured out that Wally just _couldn't_ get used to his new body. He just wasn't gonna let himself! So instead, I teamed up with the Flash here, hopin' we could figure out how to get his body back for him._

_"And I think we may have just figured it out."_

Cyborg and the Flash led Wally West, the bodiless specter of speed, into the little corner of the lab. As he took in what was going on around him, his head span. It had been a busy day…

_Speed: "I can't believe this day—then again, it's no worse than anything else that's happened to me. It's the final straw, though! I'm tired of Raven screwing with my head, and I'm tired of nearly losing everything over and over again because of this stupid team!_

_"I was gonna run away again, like I always do…just run and run and run, until I wasn't angry anymore. But then, I don't know what I would've done. Run into the Speed Force, just stay there and die? Don't think I haven't thought about it, but before thinking about Aunt Iris would hold me back, or Fran, or Raven…but this time I almost just went for it._

_"But this will be even better. If I could get my body back…it would be the best thing that's ever happened to me! Finally, I could be normal again, and I could leave these guys behind and maybe things would finally turn around for me! Of course…this is me we're talking about here. Something's gonna go wrong, so I can't get my hopes up."_

"So all this stuff is supposed to help me get my body back?" he asked incredulously. "How do you know my body's still even around?"

"We don't," replied Vic Stone as he sat down in a seat attached to a large machine. "Actually, we're gonna find that out right now."

Wally frowned. "So it's not a sure thing then? Do I even have a chance at all?"

"This is your _only_ chance, Wally," said Flash as he put his hand on his nephew's shoulder. "And I think it's going to work. See, as far as any of us have been able to tell, the Speed Force _isn't_ a destructive energy—it's just a power source, a Valhalla beyond the speed of light that provides the momentum all objects need to move, and the super speed people like Impulse and I have. I don't think it destroyed your body at all—I think that when I pushed you, your mind and your body were separated, and your mind bonded with the Force itself. Your body may still be in there!"

However, even as the words left Barry Allen's mouth, he lowered his head and bit his lip. "Wally…I'm so sorry. Max Mercury has always thought that the Speed Force "chose" the people it was going to grant super speed to…and he may be right. It would explain why lightning was going to strike my lab twice, but if it is right…then what happened to you may _really be_ my fault. I'm so sorry Wally…I only wanted to protect you, but I may have ended up costing you everything. But that's why I'm not going to stop now until things are fixed!"

The Titan frowned.

_Speed: "Ever since the accident I've hated the Flash, because it was all his fault, and he wasn't doing anything to fix it! He's supposed to be the peoples' super-hero, the one everybody loves so much they make him a freaking museum, but he doesn't help me! Well now he's helping me…but I dunno what to think about it. People like him can't stand people hating them…so this could all just a way to make him feel less guilty or something._

_"I wouldn't put it past him, and like I said, I'm not gonna get my hopes up. But, for _once_, I'd actually be happy if I was wrong here…"_

"So let's get to fixin' it!" exclaimed Cyborg as he flicked switches, bringing to life enough lights to illuminate a large city. "Wally, you'll need to run on that treadmill. My machines'll collect the energy you create and hopefully allow us to take a look into the Speed Force itself through our instruments!"

Speed crossed his arms. "That place's enormous, though. How do you expect to find my body floating around in such a big place?"

A grin formed on the half-robot's face. "Already got it covered! We're also gonna be trackin' your thought patterns, and usin' them as our guide, we should be able to hone in on your body easily!"

"Fine," grunted the speed specter as he stepped onto the treadmill and put on the thought pattern tracking helmet. "I guess you've got all this stupid science stuff down-pat. So, I just run?"

"Yup," said Vic, "Just run as fast as you can!"

_Cyborg: "Damn, even now he's still bitter! I wish I'dve had more time. Flash an' me never got a chance to test all this gear, and now we're bettin' Wally's future on it. If it fails, he's gonna explode on us! Please gear, don't let me down now…"_

With nothing left to lose, Wally West ran. It took all his resolve to keep his shell-like body of compressed Speed Force energy together as he grew faster and faster, threatening to merge with the very force that granted him his power.

"It's working!" exclaimed both Cyborg and the Flash as golden power appeared on every screen.

_'It really is!'_ thought Wally, amazed. Finally convinced that this crazy plan might actually succeed, he focused, setting his thoughts solely on his former appearance.

And sure enough, a few moments later, something showed up on the radars. It was a body, floating limply by itself in the endless golden field of speed energy. He was a teenage boy, tall and skinny, wearing jeans and a hockey jersey with red hair just long enough for a few bands to fall over his face.

"My body!" exclaimed Speed. His joy overtaking him, he lost all inhibition as he exploded to his top speed. His power filled the room like lightning striking as he entered the Speed Force—but not everybody was happy about this.

The Flash's eyes grew wide as he suddenly took off. "Wally, WAIT!"

*****NEW YORK CITY ROOFTOPS*****

The two Robins bounded from rooftop to rooftop, fearless as they transversed the gaps between the buildings without even looking down. While the distance they had to travel was too short to bother firing up the Batwing, it was still quite a lengthy trip by foot.

However, the younger Robin didn't mind at all. He had something on his mind anyway, a point he wanted to make, so he figured this was the perfect time to take action. "So, Dick, why did you become Robin anyway?"

_Robin: "Heh, it's kinda funny, I've asked the kid a billion questions about him and he's never answered, but now he's got one for me?"_

Dick just chuckled, though, as he answered, "Isn't it obvious, kid? For the girls! For the fame an' attention an' the girls!"

His young friend just frowned, and as they landed on another rooftop he continued, "Yeah, I know you well enough to know that really _is_ part of the reason, but I also know you well enough to realize that there's more to it. C'mon dude, be honest."

The acrobat just rolled his eyes, but he liked talking about himself enough that he wasn't just going to let the question lay. "Fine, yeah, there _is_ more. It's really fun, too. I'm a circus kid, I love all the thrills of it, but…aw hell, why not? But deep down, kid, the reason why I really joined the Titans and haven't just become the hottest stunt-man ever or something? It's got to do with my parents.

"They died when I was younger than even you. Their trapeze line was cut—I saw them fall as I stood up at the other side of the rope, helpless to do anything but f---ing stare at them as they died. I knew who did it too. I heard this motherf---er of a mobster, some dick named Tony Zucco, pressin' the circus owner for 'insurance' money. When he refused to pay, Zucco decided to make an example of my folks.

"I told the cops but the useless clods couldn't do nothin' about it—Zucco was long gone, like he just disappeared. But I wasn't gonna stand for that, not when the f---er killed my parents. I struck out on my own, I tracked Zucco down, and…and…"

"And?"

"And he beat the s--- outta me," laughed Dick. "I'dve been dead if not for your boss swoopin' outta nowhere at the last second!"

The younger Robin's eyes nearly bulged out of his head—he'd never heard about this! "Wait, _Batman_ was there?!"

"Yeah," replied the Titan, "and he scared the hell outta me—but, he saved my life at the same time. He made sure Zucco got what he deserved. After that this rich guy named Bruce Wayne tried to adopt me, but I had other plans. I wanted to travel 'round the world with the circus and train, pick up all the skills I could, cause…well…Batman had inspired me.

"I felt as helpless as a g--damn baby against Zucco—but Batman beat him up in, like, two seconds flat. I wanted to be like that, be able to save people and help out and beat the s--- outta guys like Zucco."

_Robin: "'Course, I wanted to do it my own way—to not be as dark and depressing as Batman was. Even after I screwed up fightin' Light I still thought I could do it, but after fightin' with Flamebird, I pretty much realized it wasn't gonna work. But 'stead of givin' up, I just decided to do whatever it took, even if it meant bein' like Batman—cause I still wanted to help people!"_

The small Robin let himself smirk, if even for just a second. Unlike Dick, he knew that Bruce Wayne and Batman were the same person, and that if Dick had been adopted by him that his life—and quite likely his crime-fighting career—would have been much different.

Still, he hadn't said everything he'd wanted to say yet. "So," asked the young detective, "Wanna hear why _I_ became Robin?"

"F--- _yes_!" replied Dick without a second's hesitation.

_Robin: "I mean, I think the whole dark and mysterious thing is as cool as the next guy, but it's about time he answered one of my questions!"_

So the boy began his story. "Like every other kid in Gotham, I idolized Batman—though probably not for the same reasons as the rest of them. All my friends at school just wanted to see him whale on people, but I liked that he was a master detective!

"See, I've always been fascinated with detectives and mysteries—I've read everything about them I could get my hands on, from kids stuff like Nate the Great and Encyclopedia Brown to the classics, like Agatha Christie's books and Sherlock Holmes. But, here was a real, live master detective roaming the city every night, solving case after case, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever!

"So I made a game of it, tracking his cases and following all the clues, and eventually I did it: I figured out who Batman really was!"

Raising an eyebrow, Dick interjected, "So, are you gonna tell me how, or who he is?!"

The smaller Robin just snickered. "Yeah, I'm just gonna tell you that while you're on camera. I'm not a moron!"

_Robin: "Aw. Well, it was worth a shot…"_

Batman's partner took on a more somber tone as he continued with his story. "I wasn't going to _do_ anything with the information at first—I mean, it was just cool enough to figure out who he was! But I was still tracking Batman's cases, and what I started to see kinda scared me. He was getting more brutal with his victims, and apparently more reckless too, since more and more reports of his injuries came in. I was afraid he would snap or something—and I can't imagine losing anybody _that_ dangerous to the Dark Side!

"That was around the time I first saw your show, and _you_. You really surprised me, Dick—you had as much potential as Batman, maybe even _more_, yet you hadn't lost yourself to sorrow! You could do what he did, but still be fun and approachable! You could do it without being a danger to yourself or anybody else!"

_Robin: "Or at least, I _used_ to be like that, back when I still thought it'd work. Hell, I think I know where the kid's goin' with this…"_

"I decided that what Batman needed in his life, to save his _morality_, was someone like you: a Robin to counter his darkness, to be his tether to humanity!"

Smiling proudly, the young Robin bragged, "So I tracked him down, and with enough persistence, that's exactly what I became!"

_Robin: "S---, I was right. This whole thing, all these stories, he's tryin' to make a point about me with 'em! Don't think he counted on me catchin' on so quick though—but why wouldn't I? I'm almost as good've a detective as him now!"_

"That's a pretty cool thing to pull off," replied Dick as they both fired grappling lines and soared onto a higher rooftop, "But I get what you're drivin' at, and this stuff's not as simple as you make it sound!"

"How so?" asked his namesake, almost sounding like he was issuing a challenge.

Frustrated, the older Robin replied, "'Cause it just _is_! I'm a fun lovin' guy, but I just can't be that guy while we're in battle! I'm not gonna drag this team down like Flamebird did hers! I'm already behind the others 'cause I don't have any powers, so now I've gotta work _twice_ as f---ing hard as they do just to be useful!"

"But it's not just about your powers!" insisted the young detective. "You're important to the Titans for a lot of reasons! You keep them honest, tell them everything like it is, plus now you've got detective skills too!"

"Bein' honest ain't gonna do jacks--- against someone like Brother Blood or Deathstroke! And yeah, I'm a much better detective now, but that's _because_ I've been spending so much time training with you!"

The smaller Robin sighed. "But you don't need to shut everybody out to do it! Why not have Kory train with us too? I liked it when she sat in on my acrobat lessons!"

_Robin: "I did too, but as much as I like Kory, sometimes her bein' that hot was just distracting! I dunno…I've just wanted to focus on putting everything I have into my training and not letting myself get distracted. Maybe I am hurting some feelings 'cause of it, but me being the best is too important to let that stop me!"_

"Why are you even getting on me about this?" snarled Dick. "You say you're inspired by me, but you're pretty damn dark and mysterious yourself, and last time _I_ saw him, Batman was still a f---ing dick!"

"Batman has more issues than you can imagine, but despite what you may think he's really softened up since I've met him—I think I'm helping, even if it's taking a while! Besides, say what you will about him, but _he_ hasn't dropped any criminals from a building lately!"

Dick winced and turned away from his young friend, but the boy wasn't done yet, whether Dick wanted to hear it or not.

"And as for me, I'm trying my best, but I'm not the same as you! I think I do a good job of not going over the edge, but I'm just not as outgoing and friendly as you are! It's hard for me, but I do it anyway—but it comes naturally to you, yet you're ignoring it and trying to be a jerk instead!"

Grumbling, the Titan's lip quivered slightly as he insisted, "I'm _not_ trying to be a jerk! I just want to do everything I can, to give my all to being a hero—and if that means I act like a jerk sometimes, well, then I'll f---ing do it!"

The younger Robin frowned, and was ready to offer a rebuttal, but that was when the computer he had given his older counterpart started buzzing in the acrobat's hand. "We're here," he said with the slight hint of a smile as he peered over the building's edge.

_Robin: "S---, with everything goin' on I'd almost forgot about findin' Donna's parents!"_

"So that's it?" Dick's namesake wasn't satisfied with the sudden change in topic. "We're just going to stop talking about it?"

"_Yes_," growled Dick as he sized up the house below. The mobster's widow's home was grand, and had guards on each side—apparently she received lifetime protection.

"It's a long trip home, you know," remarked Robin as he crossed his arms. His older partner, however, was simply busy formulating a plan—which didn't amount to more than his usual "knock the threat the hell out" strategy.

Leaping from the rooftop, he just commanded, "Take the guard out back!"

_Robin: "I didn't mean to piss the kid off, but I was just done talkin'. I said everything I wanted to say, and now, it was mystery solvin' time!"_

He leapt into the air, tossing a disk in mid-somersault. It struck the ground immediately in front of the unsuspecting guard, who was temporarily blinded by the flash of white light that burst from within the projectile. Only a moment later Robin was on top of him, landing five consecutive strikes before even hitting the ground. By the time he landed his hands had gripped onto the guards shoulders, and he sent the goon flying over his head and into the nearby hedges.

Next the Titan threw an explosives packed disk into the front door, blowing the doorknob and lock from the rest of the structure. Leaping through the now open entrance, he was immediately met by both barrels of a double-barrel shotgun.

_Robin: "S---, this is the first time this's happened that it wasn't some mad dad holdin' a gun to me for takin' out his daughter!"_

Considering his nearly super-human reflexes and his experience with the situation, it was no surprise that Dick Grayson easily dodged the shotgun's blast, ducking beneath the bullet spray and leaving only the very end of his cape to be shredded as he opened his utility belt and lashed out with a Redbird boomerang that sent the gun flying across the room.

With the threat past, Robin could now see that the wielder of the shotgun was an older woman, maybe in her mid-forties, though it looked like the stress of her lifestyle and the loss of her husband had taken its toll. Still, she also looked tough—_definitely_ the widow of a gangster.

"What do you want?!" barked the woman, her anger at this intrusion outweighing her fear for the moment.

"Answers," growled back Dick as he pulled out his handheld computer. "This fire, I'm told you have connections to it. I need to know everything you know about it!"

The woman's face finally let a trace of shock through at the mention of the fire, even if just for a second. "If you think you can just burst in here and start bossing me around, you got another thing coming!"

_Robin: "Great! How'm I supposed to make _her_ talk?! Even _I_ feel bad 'bout beatin' up an old lady!"_

"Please, ma'am." Suddenly the smaller Robin appeared from the other side of the room, never making a sound until the petition left his mouth. "Please, we're not here to cause you any trouble. I already know you're Emily Montoni, wife of the late mob boss Salvador Montoni, and that his death thirteen years ago was somehow related to the fire my partner was asking about."

Mrs. Montoni frowned, not happy with these painful memories being dredged up, but the tiny detective continued anyway. "I'm sorry to have to be asking you about this under these circumstances," he acknowledged, "But a friend of ours thinks she's a survivor of the fire, and we're just trying to help her find her roots. Please, help us."

_Robin: "Okay, so either Batman was expectin' me to teach the kid how to grill people too, or this just might actually work…"_

Emily Montoni gasped like the breath was knocked out of her, and across her eyes flashed a small spark of hope. "Of—of course. I'll help you any way I can…"

Dick nearly gasped himself—he definitely hadn't expected her to talk!

"That building was a hidden drug storehouse for the Silvestro family," she began, "And at the time they were feuding over territory with my husband and his men. After a particularly heated confrontation, Silvestro's men retaliated by breaking into our home and kidnapping my daughter! They held her in that building as a bargaining chip, trying to get Sal to hand over his turf—but my Sal always _was_ stubborn as a mule. He refused, and since the building was slated for demolition anyway, Silvestro's men torched it! My daughter was burnt alive!"

Both Robins were speechless, yet the mafia widow's story wasn't yet done. "My husband never thought they'd actually go through with it," continued Emily between sobs, "So when they did, he wanted revenge! He took on the Silvestro family himself, and in the end their boss and my Sal ended up killing each other! I lost my husband and my daughter on the same day!"

_Robin: "S--- that's a rough story, but I still can't get over her daughter bein' there…hm, I wonder…"_

Dick's namesake was on the same page. "Your daughter…what was her name?"

Mrs. Montoni pulled a heart shaped locket from the inside of her shirt and opened it, revealing a photo of a bright eyed little girl with black hair pulled back into a ponytail. "Donna," sobbed the woman, "Her name was Donna!"

_Robin: "And that seals it! I'd recognize Donna anywhere, any age, but even more than that is something I read in Donna's diary when the little guy showed it to me—the Amazons called her Donna cause the name was sewed in all her clothes! Donna was always her real name, and there's no way this lady's any other Donna's mom but Donna Troy's!"_

As the revelation sank into the Robin's heads, though, Emily sank further into grief. "I didn't know about Sal's…career when I married him, but once I found out I couldn't object, not after the life it'd bought me. My selfishness cost me my husband _and_ my daughter!" Her make-up smeared down her face, carried away with her tears, as she looked up and made eye contact with the two crime fighters. "Your friend, is it…is she my Donna? Please, tell me she is!"

Dick could see his partner getting ready to answer her, and quickly beat him to the punch. "We're not sure," he said as he abruptly turned for the door. "We'll let you know if we find out anything."

Stunned, the young Robin added, "I promise we'll get back to you as soon as we can—and I'll make sure you're paid back for all the damage we've caused." As he walked through the door, he looked back and honestly said, "I'm sorry."

By the time he caught up to Dick the acrobat was already back on the rooftop next door—Robin greeted him by tackling him to the ground.

"What the hell's wrong with you?!" exclaimed the young detective. "That woman's been in pain for thirteen years and you can't tell her that her daughter's really alive?!"

Dick pushed the boy off him and climbed to his feet. "I have a good reason."

"What? What could this good reason possibly be?!"

"I didn't tell Mrs. Montoni we found her daughter," replied Dick, "Because I don't think I'm gonna tell _Donna_ we found her _mother_."

*****TITANS TOWER—CYBORG'S LAB*****

"Wally, WAIT!"

Screaming at the top of his lungs, the Flash zoomed onto the treadmill where his nephew had stood only a micro-second before. The device never even slowed down as Barry Allen took up where Wally had left off, running with all his might.

_Cyborg: "At first I didn't get the problem, but then it hit me! If Wally somehow merged back with his body, he might still be stuck in the Speed Force! Damn that kid never thinkin' before he acts…but at that point I couldn't blame him, not as excited as he must've been. I just hoped the Flash could save him,' cause I sure knew I couldn't!"_

As Flash ran he began to vibrate his molecules at different speeds, hoping to match the unique frequency Wally ran at—and as he finally met his goal he ran even faster, threatening to blow the treadmill to shreds as light started to stretch and distort around him. He had latched onto the path Speed had created, and was following him straight into the Speed Force!

Barry Allen had been there once before, outrunning a menace that had threatened to destroy his whole _world_. He almost didn't make it back—and he didn't know if he could do it again. But for his nephew, he'd take that risk.

With a boom he entered the Speed Force, a nearly indescribable world of pure momentum and blinding energy. He was only a few steps behind Speed—though what he was running _on_ he would never know, as there was no ground anywhere in sight.

"Yes!" cried Wally as the mass of energy his mind had merged to struck his body, sending it flailing like it had been hit by lightning. As the energy dispersed, however, he showed signs of life. His green eyes opened, and the boy marveled as he moved his hands and feet. Never before had something so simple seemed so amazing, especially to _him_.

Not even a second later he had been swept into the arms of the Flash, who was still running as fast as he could.

_Speed: "I couldn't believe it was real, that I was back in my body, but it was definitely all real! But, there was still one problem…I was so eager to get back to being myself I never even thought about how I was gonna get _out_ of the Speed Force!_

_"Fortunately, the Flash was there. The _Flash_ saved _me—and_ got me my body back! I guess…I guess I misjudged him. Hell, I bet I misjudged a lot of people. Without my body I felt like another person entirely, and now, well, now I just hope I can think a little clearer._

_"But now, looks like I've got the rest of my life to figure it out!"_

As Barry Allen ran, he focused his thoughts. Last time he had escaped the Speed Force he did it by thinking about the love of his life, his Iris. He discovered the Force couldn't take someone if they still had regrets and still had a full life to live. Iris was his tether—and today, so was the life of the boy in his arms.

After all, he'd let Wally down when the accident happened in the first place. There was no way he could do it again. And with tethers as strong as those, there was no way he wasn't going to make it back.

The treadmill exploded as lightning-like energy filled the room and Flash collapsed to his knees.

Cyborg, however, couldn't see any of it through the smoke. "Flash, Wally, that you? You guys okay?"

As he drew closer to the two, he nearly panicked—until both looked at him and smiled. "I'm a little tired," admitted Barry, "But I'm fine, don't worry about me."

"And I'm…great!" exclaimed Wally as he rose to his feet, staring at his hands. "Finally, everything's amazing!"

_Speed: "I could feel the floor and the fabric of my jersey, and I could smell the oil from all of Vic's machines. God, I'd missed that. It's like I'd regained a whole world of simple stuff that made all the difference!"_

A few minutes later the door to Victor Stone's lab opened. Waiting eagerly outside were the Titans Starfire and Beast Boy, as well as their guests, Sarah Simms, Matt Logan, and Wally's aunt—and Barry's wife, though none of the Titans knew of his secret identity—Iris Allen.

Their hearts fluttered with anticipation as through the doors walked three figures—Cyborg, the Flash, and one they didn't recognize at first, a teenaged boy with red hair and the biggest smile they'd ever seen.

"Ladies and gentlemen," announced Vic, his smile nearly rivaling the boy's, "I present to you, for the first time, the real Wally West!"

"Wally, it _is_ you!" In the blink of an eye Starfire had shot across the room and latched herself to his body. "I am so happy for you! Congratulations!"

"Thanks Kory, really," said Wally, truly meaning it despite his wincing, "But do you think you could stop now? I actually have bones you can break now!"

Blushing, Koriand'r let him go. "Oh, of course."

"Dude, congrats," laughed Gar Logan as he gave his teammate a high five. "What about your powers, though? Still got em?"

As a demonstration, Wally waved his arm—it didn't blur or anything. "Nope, I think they were just a part of the 'no body' package—but who cares, right? I'd trade those powers for my body any day!"

_Beast Boy: "Hey, not having a body is one thing, but super speed's pretty awesome! It's too bad he couldn't hang onto 'em…"_

Sarah, meanwhile, pulled her boyfriend down for a kiss. "Great job, Vic. I'm proud of you." The metal man blushed.

_Cyborg: "Hey, I just felt good that I finally really helped somebody out. The smile on Wally's face…damn, that almost makes it worth taking all of his griping all this time."_

"Okay guys," interjected Matt Logan—loudly, as usual, "I don't think I understand everything that's goin' on here, but I sure as hell know that this is a once-in-a-lifetime paaaar-tay moment! C'mon, who's with me?!"

"I sure am!" exclaimed Wally, much to everybody's surprise.

_Speed: "Hey, I don't think I've ever had a party in my honor before anyway—and I've never had a reason to celebrate like this either! No way was I turning it down!"_

But as the others went upstairs to begin the party and the crowd thinned, soon only Wally, Flash, and Iris were left in the lab. "Flash," Wally began, starting to choke up, "I—I'm sorry, for all the s---ty things I said about you. You really came through in the end. Thanks."

"No problem, Wally," replied the scarlet speedster with a wink. "Think nothing of it, really."

"And Aunt Iris…" Words could barely express what either of them were feeling—Wally simply fell into her arms and hugged her as tight as he could. "Thank you for never giving up on me."

"I could never do that," sobbed Iris. "I'm just so glad you're happy!"

_Speed: "Me too, me too…this, I think this all makes the whole Teen Titans thing worthwhile—and considering what I've gone through here, that's pretty amazing!"_

*****A LITTLE WHLE LATER—OUTSIDE TITANS TOWER*****

The tranquil water that surrounded Titans Island was suddenly disturbed, rippling in circles around one point, the spot where the Batwing was slowly descending, in preparation to land. The jet stopped, hovering only a foot or two above the water's surface—normally Robin would have had it in stealth mode by this point, but today the young detective wasn't planning on staying long anyway.

The cockpit slid back and out crawled Dick Grayson, leaping from the vehicle's wing to the small island's sandy shore. Still in the Batwing, his namesake leaned out and asked, "So, you're _really_ not going to tell Donna?"

_Robin: "We didn't talk much on the way back from New York—I guess the kid was finally tired of bugging me—but I sure as _hell_ told him why I wasn't tellin' Donna! Either he's got a memory problem…or he still just don't agree."_

"C'mon kid," sighed Dick, "You know what she's like! Donna's little miss self-righteous superhero! If she found out her parents were criminals she'd freak! It'd bust her little world like a balloon! I can't do that to her!"

"Maybe…but she'll find out anyway," retorted Robin. "And she'll be twice as pissed when she finds out you kept it from her!" Dick's only 'reply' was a blank stare, so the young vigilante just sighed, "Whatever," and moved to close the cockpit.

"Wait!" cried the acrobat, taking his partner by surprise. "When'll ya be swingin' by again?"

Gripping the steering wheel tight and staring straight ahead—avoiding all eye contact with Dick—he swallowed a lump in his throat as he replied, "I _won't_ be. You passed your detectives lessons today, so there's no reason for me to come back anymore."

Dick recoiled like he had been sucker punched in the stomach. "C'mon little guy, you…you _can't_ be serious! I considered you, like, like the little brother I never had or somethin'! You can't just never come back—I know you and me had fun!"

"We did," replied the Batman's partner solemnly. "I considered you like the big brother _I_ never had too. But, you're not that guy anymore—and you're certainly not the Robin I modeled myself after anymore either! If that guy ever comes back give me a call…but until then, I'm outta here."

Then the Batwing's cockpit slid shut and the jet ascended high into the sky. Dick Grayson just watched, looking up sadly with his cape billowing behind him as a friend flew out of his life.

_Robin: "S---, I knew we fought half the day, but I didn't think the kid was_ that _upset! Really surprised me he'd just take off like that…as much as I know it's helpin' me fight crime, all this dark and mysterious stuff really sucks for the rest of my life!"_

As much as Dick was surprised by his friend's sudden departure, though, he was even more shocked by what he saw as the Tower's elevator doors opened and he caught sight of the living room: a party! His teammates, their friends, even the Flash was there, and even the Disco Ball Dick had installed was running!

_Robin: "Hell, and I woulda bet money that Vic took that thing down as soon as he found out about it!"_

"Woah," exclaimed the acrobat, "What's goin' on here?! You're having a party without _me_?!"

"Toldja we shoulda waited for him," grunted Matt Logan—by the time he'd spoken the words Koriand'r was halfway across the room, nearly smothering her boyfriend in a bear-hug.

"Dick!" exclaimed the Tamaranian, "I am overjoyed that you are safe!"

"But where _were_ you?!" asked Cyborg, casting Robin stern looks over his crossed arms. "We tried calling you but you never picked up!"

Sheepishly, Robin replied, "Sorry 'bout that. I was in NYC with the little Robin, takin' my final detective test, and I didn't want any interruptions!" Grinning, he added, "Of course, I passed with flyin' colors."

Met only with the dubious stares of his teammates, and remembering the disco ball spinning above him, Robin finally asked, "What the hell happened here today anyway? We must be celebratin' for _some_ reason!"

_Beast Boy: "What _happened_ here?! Man, if he only knew what a loaded question _that_ was!"_

"We're celebrating because a certain somebody got his body back!" Suddenly Dick was smacked on the back by a red-headed kid in a hockey jersey—he certainly didn't know who _this_ guy was! "Guess who?!"

The acrobat just looked confused. "Body back? Wha…_no way!_ Wally, that's you?! Holy s--- man, congrats!"

_Speed: "Wow, even Dick seems genuinely happy for me! Definitely wasn't expecting that. Hell, everybody's being great to me…heh, it's about time."_

"So Wally, have you thought about what you're going to do now?" Suddenly the Flash was the one asking questions. "I mean, without your powers, you can't exactly be a Titan…"

"Of course he can!" interjected Starfire angrily. "He is our friend, and he belongs here as much as any of us!"

Wally West raised an eyebrow. "Wait, seriously? You want me to stay?"

"Yeah man." This time it was Cyborg who spoke up. "You've earned the right to stay here as much as any of us have."

_Cyborg: "Plus, I think it would be good for him to have a chance to see us with this new perspective he's got!"_

The former speedster just wasn't sure, though. "I dunno," he mused as he scratched his chin. "It could be pretty cool, but…"

_Speed: "I was kinda looking forward to living the rest of that normal life I've always wanted. Some people just aren't cut out for this super hero business, and I don't think I was one of those people even when I _had_ powers."_

Suddenly a chill swept through the room as Raven appeared, the dark empath emerging from the black folds of her cloak. All were silent as she quickly scanned the room and its party-like state. "I _thought_ I sensed an unusual amount of excitement here," she said—then she caught sight of Wally.

"Speed, I am…pleased to see that you have regained your body. Congratulations."

_Raven: "Despite what any of you think of me, I _was_ being truthful—I was pleased to see him recovered and happy. After all, that was the point of my manipulation all along."_

"Like hell you are!" growled Wally, his teeth gritting and his eyebrows arching almost into a 'V'. "Leave me alone!" Turning away from his teammates, the boy walked towards the elevator door. "I'm sorry guys, but there's no way I can stay here, not with her around!"

_Speed: "Kory's offer was pretty cool, if only because I couldn't believe all of them really wanted me to stay here—but I can't, not with Raven here! I was just beginning to forget her, to let her be replaced with my new happiness, then poof, she pops back in to make my life miserable! Well, that's it! I'm never gonna let it happen again!"_

_Robin: "Wait, what's the druggie's beef with Raven? When did _this_ happen?!"_

The alien princess's heart dropped. "But…where will you go?"

_Starfire: "I will not allow my friend to live on the streets!"_

"With _me_, hopefully." Every head in the room turned to Iris West-Allen, Wally's devoted aunt. Sharing a quick, knowing glance with her husband, she continued, "Listen kiddo, I know you have problems with your parents. So, your uncle and I would love to have you for as long as you'd like to stay."

Wally's eyes lit up. "Really?!"

"Really."

Suddenly he was in her arms, hugging her nearly as tight as Starfire had him. "Aunt Iris, you're the best!"

_Starfire: "I am sad that Wally will not give us another chance, but if he is this happy then I will be happy for him too!"_

"Well, I guess you two are going to need a ride home." Suddenly the Flash was between the two. "I don't think Keystone's too far out of my way," added the super-hero with a laugh. "Anybody else want a ride on the Flash express?"

"Actually, I do," said Sarah Simms, standing on her toes as she kissed her boyfriend goodbye before dashing to the scarlet speedster. "It's a school night, after all."

"And yeah, I better get back 'fore my roomies finish all those kegs I bought!" exclaimed Matt. "Peace out, guys!"

As the group walked into the elevator, Barry Allen laughed. "I have to bring all of you home? Wow, good thing I'm the fastest man alive!"

_Speed: "It's kinda sad, leaving them all behind—but I'm ready to move on. It's time for my new life to begin! Now I can really be Wally West again!"_

"Amazing," said Raven. "After all his bluffing I never thought Speed would truly leave the team."

"How can you be surprised?!" snarled Kory. "It is all your fault!"

_Starfire: "While I may consider Raven my friend, she still did a horrible thing to Wally! As soon as I get a chance, I am going to _really_ find out why!"_

"Woah, ladies, ladies!" Suddenly Robin stepped between the two Titans, holding both of their tempers at bay. "Not that I don't appreciate a good catfight as much as the next guy, but can we at least hold it off 'til somebody tells me what the hell is going on?!"

Gar snickered. "You want to know what happened today? Dude, I hope you're ready for a long story." Collapsing into a chair, he sighed, "The stuff with Wally and Raven's only, like, fifteen percent of it!"

With that, the four Titans proceeded to fill in Dick Grayson on the day's many morbid events, from Deathstroke and his family and their plots of revenge to the untimely demise of Terry Long and the subsequent shattering of Donna Troy's life up to Raven's manipulation of Wally's mind.

By the time the tale was told, Dick had only one thing to say: "Holy f---ing s---!"

_Robin: "That's…that's just f---ing awful! G—damn, I can't believe I wasn't there to help them! Great, I thought I was doin' a good deed today, and now I just feel like s---!"_

"I have to go see her!" exclaimed Dick as he stormed towards the elevator.

"Dude, worst idea ever!" cried Beast Boy. "Trust me, when she said she wanted to be left alone, she meant it!"

But Robin paid the boy no attention.

_Robin: "There's no way I can tell Donna 'bout her parents, not now…but I still wasn't there to help! I have to say _something_!"_

*****OUTSIDE WONDER GIRL'S ROOM*****

Robin stood nervously outside Wonder Girl's door, pondering over just what to say before finally just thinking, _'To hell with it,'_ and knocking on the door anyway.

"I thought I told all of you I wanted to be left alone?!" roared Donna's voice from the other side.

Swallowing the ever-increasing lump in his throat, Dick replied, "Donna? It's me, Dick! I just wanted to—"

He never even got a chance to finish his sentence as the door suddenly slid open and Donna, dressed only in a nightgown, grabbed his neck and tossed him across her room.

_Wonder Girl: "Just when I was starting to get some peace, he comes knocking on my door, bringing all that anger just rushing right back! But I might as well argue with him too, it's not like there's anything left to salvage of this day anyway…"_

Pulling himself out of the wall, Robin could only stare, shocked, at his teammate. Dried tears stained her face as she tried to gain her composure enough to actually _speak._ "Donna, I heard what happened," he said, hoping to calm the raging beast inside of her. "I'm sorry. Terry seemed like a cool guy when I met him, an' he didn't deserve this."

"No," said Donna, "He didn't."

Her sadness was practically infectious, and Dick nearly sobbed himself as he continued, "I wish I could have been there…"

"Then why weren't you?!" The Amazon's pained scream echoed throughout the room.

_Wonder Girl: "The others tried their best to save Terry, and even Raven at least had an excuse, even if she was terribly rude about it, but Dick doesn't even answer our calls and just disappears all day and then comes back here acting all sorry?! He has to answer for not helping!"_

"Donna, I…I"

"Answer me!" raged the ferocious girl, again driving her teammate into the wall, holding her fist only inches away from his face. "I just want a straight answer! Why didn't you come?! Where _were_ you?!"

"I was out _finding your f---ing parents_, okay?!"

Dick fell from Donna's grip as her body went limp, her mouth hanging open, completely and utterly shocked by the news.

_Wonder Girl: "My parents?! But…I've been looking for them forever!"_

_Robin: "S---! Maybe the little guy was right, maybe I was gonna _have _to tell her sometime, but this was definitely not a good time, not when she was already this pissed!"_

The adopted Amazon's mind could barely comprehend the news at first. "What…what do you mean, you found my parents?"

"The little Robin found out you didn't know who your parents were," explained Robin, still catching his breath, "And decided to make finding them my final detective test…I passed."

Tears spilling from her eyes like they'd sprung a leak, Donna actually looked happy, _overjoyed_ even. "Then…then tell me! Who are they? I have to know!"

_Wonder Girl: "I had a great childhood on Themyscara, but I wasn't born there, and as long as I didn't know my past its always felt like a part of me was missing! Finally, a chance to discover who I really am!"_

_Robin: "Hell, why not tell her now, right? No way I was gonna get outta of it after I'd spilled this much already…"_

"Your parents were Salvador and Emily Montoni," Dick explained with a sigh. "Salvador was a mob boss. You were kidnapped by one of his rivals, and left to die in that burning building—your father died trying to avenge you. Only your mother's left alive now…"

"Get out." Donna cut Dick off before he could say anymore, pointing towards the door. "Get out _now_." Her teammate didn't hesitate to listen to her for even a second, and as soon as the door slid shut behind him, she collapsed to the floor, her arms wrapped around her knees as she sobbed and sobbed.

_Wonder Girl: "To me, being a good person, being a superhero has been everything. But my parents…were _criminals?!_ Hera, I thought finding them would help me discover more about myself…but I never even thought it would be something I didn't like! What am I going to do now? How can I ever show my face again? How can I even keep on _living_?! Everything I ever had that made my life great…I've lost today…_

_"Great Zues…what do I do now?"_

As Robin walked back into the hallway, meanwhile, he was met by his girlfriend, who was standing right outside Donna's door.

_Starfire: "Dick and Donna were quite loud, and I had no problem overhearing what they were saying. It…it is all too much. I am tired of all of this…"_

"You heard?" asked Dick.

Kory nodded. "Yes, all of it. Why did you not tell us about Terry? You said you met him."

"Once," admitted her boyfriend, "But only for a few seconds. Donna made me promise to keep it a secret!"

_Starfire: "Secrets…Dick has had far too many of them lately."_

"What about your trip today?" continued the Tamaranian. "Why did you keep it a secret? Even if I could not come, you could have told me your mission! Or you could have included me, but you never do anymore! You are pushing me out of your life, Dick!"

He barely even knew what to say. "Kory…I'm not _trying_ to…"

"But you are," insisted Princess Koriand'r, "And I am tired of it. I fell in love with you because of your enthusiasm and your honesty and your zeal for life, but I see none of that in you anymore!"

Tears started to leak from her bright green eyes as she walked to her door, leaving her love in disbelief. "And it hurts me too much to be with you when you are like this, Dick. I am sorry…but we are over."

The door slid shut behind her, leaving Dick Grayson all alone—in more ways than one.

_Robin: "I told the little guy I could handle this, that bein' the best and bein' worthwhile to this team was worth bein' a jerk, worth losing some stuff in my life…but I'm not so sure anymore. This…this just hurts way too f---ing much…an' if this is what I'm gonna have to do to be a good hero…than I'm not sure I can _be_ a hero anymore!"_

*****CYBORG'S LAB*****

Beast Boy sat at a computer console, footage from the Tower's security cameras running on the screens. The changeling's attention was focused on one monitor in particular, where Robin stood alone in the upstairs hallway.

"It's not cool to spy on people like that, Gar," remarked Cyborg as he walked past, hauling debris from the shattered remains of his Speed Force equipment.

"Yeah, I know," admitted the green boy, "But I just had to see what happened next! I mean, this is too much!" Slumping back into his chair, he continued, "Wally's gone, Raven's apparently a bigger jerk than we _ever_ knew, Donna's pretty much broken, and now Dick and Kory just broke up!

"It feels like this whole team's just fallin' apart!"

_Cyborg: "I understand how he feels. It's gonna take a miracle to make this all feel the same as it used to…"_

Suddenly a different image shot to life on every screen in the tower, startling Beast Boy and most of the other Titans.

"Hello, my Titans!" exclaimed Mr. Jupiter on the screens, far too cheerfully for any of the Titans to handle. "I'm sorry to bother you after such a stressful day, but I just wanted to bring you some good news! With Wally having moved on, we had an open slot on the team—and I filled it!"

From behind the fashion-impaired director stepped a small, skinny girl with long blonde hair and goggles on her head. She was wearing khakis and a black t-shirt. "Titans, meet your new teammate!"

Gar's eyes nearly shot out of his head. "_Terra?!_"

Next time: Inspirations

OOC: Whew, this was a hard chapter to write! Hope you enjoyed it! We're up to the last story arc now, so if you think things got intense against Deathstroke just wait until you see where the story goes next!

Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think! Peace!


	22. Inspirations

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and are owned by DC Comics.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 22: Inspirations**

**ROLE CALL:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Pure-hearted alien powerhouse.

**And, much to the Titan's surprise, their newest member:**

**Terra—**Tara Markov: Runaway and wanderer with control over the very Earth itself!

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

*****ON THE AIR—MEETING ROOM, TITANS TOWER. SAN FRANSCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

"Okay Jupiter, let me get this straight…"

Wonder Girl, dressed shabbily in street clothes like she'd been rushed and her face still smeared with dried tears, leaned over the team's meeting table, a death glare pasted across her face. Surrounded by her five remaining teammates, she stared down their manager, Mr. Loren Jupiter, and his guest, the wandering terrakinetic Tara Markov. He was proposing that Terra join the group, and Donna Troy wasn't too pleased with the idea.

"First," continued the Amazon, "Deathstroke kidnaps our friends and family and _executes my boyfriend_ in front of me, then it costs me my oldest friend, plus at the same time we find out that one of our teammates _manipulated the mind_ of another of our teammates, causing him to quit the team for good—which, by the way, nobody bothered to _tell me_—"

"You said you wanted to be left alone," interjected Raven curtly—the empath didn't even bother to acknowledge her role as the manipulator.

Donna just rolled her eyes. "Sure didn't you stop you guys from bugging me about everything else!"

"Now _now_, my Titans," intervened Mr. Jupiter, "Let's not fight. Wonder Girl, your point, please?"

"My point," growled the traumatized Titan, "Is that this is the worst _possible_ time to be throwing something like this on us!"

Standing up, Cyborg chimed in with his two cents as well. "I agree with Donna. Wally's barely been gone ten minutes, an' this is probably one of the worst days of all our lives! You couldn'tve given us a day or two to get things figured out first?!"

Pondering their arguments, Loren scratched his chin—but his pleasured grin never left his face.

_Beast Boy: "Man, that guy always creeps me _out_! I used to think it was just his crappy clothes, but there's something seriously off 'bout that guy!"_

_Starfire: "I have always admired Mr. Jupiter's enthusiasm and cheerfulness, but there is just something not right about his actions today, well intentioned or not!"_

"I understand what you're saying, Cyborg," finally spoke Jupiter, "And I apologize if I've upset any of you. Please, my Titans, believe me when I say I only did this when I did to end the day on a good note. You do need a replacement to fill the hole Speed left in the team, undoubtedly, but if that was all I had intended I _would_ have waited—but I wanted to cheer you up and maybe bring some new hope to this team!"

_Wonder Girl: "And in the process completely ignore our feelings on the subject! I understand that Jupiter runs the show, but I still think he should have consulted us about replacing Wally and _especially_ about who that replacement would be! _I_ sure wouldn't have voted for Terra!"_

"But Terra doesn't give _me_ hope!" insisted Donna defiantly. "She scares me! This is the girl that killed one of our enemies because she lost control of her powers, then refused to leave Zandia so she couldn't be punished for it! Mr. Jupiter, I'm sorry—but I don't want her on my team!"

As soon as the subject of Rouge's death came up Garfield Logan nearly hurled—and Jupiter's chuckle just made the nausea churning in his stomach worse.

_Beast Boy: "I…I love Terra—I've never felt things for anybody like I do her! But this…this is why it just made me nervous when I saw she was back! There's no way to keep our secret from the Titans now! What'll they _do_ to her, to me, for keeping it so long?!"_

Terra lowered her head as Jupiter raised his hand, his grand gesture signaling the screen behind him to start playing a clip. "Dear Wonder Girl, that's not something you have to worry about—because Terra _didn't_ kill Madame Rouge!"

A round of stunned exclamations came from the Titans, minus Gar, who just buried his head beneath his arms.

_Beast Boy: "No! Why'd he hafta do that?!"_

_Robin: "Wait, seriously? Hell, it's about time somethin' interesting happened in this stupid meeting."_

_Cyborg: "Dammit, it's like Jupiter just wants to crush the whole team himself!"_

"You see," explained the director as the footage of Gar and Tara's fight with the sadistic shapeshifter played behind him, "All along it was Beast Boy who killed Madame Rouge Terra only selflessly sacrificed her own happiness to ensure Beast Boy's place on this team!"

Even Donna had lost some of her anger, more confused than anything else. "Then," she stuttered, "Then that doesn't change anything I said! If Gar killed then _he_ shouldn't be here!"

"Again," added her boss, "Taken care of. You can't blame your teammate there—he was defending himself from a vicious opponent, protecting a friend from certain death, and overwhelmed by animal personalities roaring within him! Rouge's death was an accident, and the courts agree with me! They've declared Beast Boy innocent of any charges, hence allowing Terra to drop the charade and return to the US!"

_Beast Boy: "An accident?! I'm…off the hook? Funny…the courts were apparently much easier on me than I was on myself…"_

_Cyborg: "'Kay, I know Gar has no poker face, and he's _definitely _surprised—an' that just confuses me! If Gar didn't know he was cleared, then how was he cleared in the first place? He obviously didn't show up in court!"_

Brushing her hair aside, Terra cast a glance across the massive table to the boy she loved. She was delighted to see his smile—and again, his happiness was the only thing that ever made her happy.

However, Donna Troy was much more befuddled. "But…why?" The question was directed towards Terra. "Why did you cover for him? If Gar was innocent, then he had nothing to hide!"

"Because you scare him." Finally Tara Markov spoke up, tired of being scrutinized and embarrassed by her role in this debate. "We both knew you wouldn't understand what happened, and I couldn't let that cost Gar his role on this team! I was glad to help out my friend!"

_Terra: "Wow, so this is the confessional room! Somehow I imagined something grander with everything I've heard…heh, but I guess I should be talking 'bout the show, right? Sorry, first episode gitters, y'know?_

_"But what a first episode I'm having! It felt so good to tell her off like that! People with perfect lives like her don't understand the s--- people like Gar and I've gone through—though, maybe now with all this Deathstroke stuff, maybe she'll actually get it!"_

_Wonder Girl: "Gar's…_scared_ of me? I'm supposed to be leader of this team, and my teammates are scared of me. Great. What's sad is it has to be true…because she's right about what she said, about how I wouldn't have understood. If I had known back then that Gar accidentally killed Rouge, I'd have condemned him immediately. I would never have understood wanting to kill somebody, never have believed that it was an accident._

_"But today, I _wanted_ to kill Deathstroke. I would have, too, if Kory hadn't stopped me. So what kind of hypocrite am I? I don't deserve to be on this team anymore…"_

Stunned silence filled the room as the Titans considered the exchange. "This is a complete waste of time," Raven said, finally breaking the ice. "If you have something to say, just say it, and if not, then let us end this pointless meeting and get on with our lives."

_Raven: "There is no way Jupiter would change his mind regardless, so even this is admittedly pointless, but anything to end this ordeal even a few seconds earlier is indeed worth it."_

"I say Tara stays!" exclaimed Starfire with her usual enthusiasm. "Her devotion to her friends is very impressive, and that is something we most definitely need right now!"

"But she still lied to us," countered Victor Stone. "Ain't any of you concerned 'bout that?"

"It is true that the lie is slightly disconcerting," said Raven, "But Beast Boy was also involved in the lie, yet he has proved quite trustworthy and reliable in the time since. I think it would be reasonable to give them both the benefit of the doubt."

_Beast Boy: "That…that's from Raven?! Holy crap!"_

_Starfire: "Raven is giving them the benefit of the doubt?! I am so proud of her!"_

_Raven: "Let me clarify: I do not approve of lying and secrets, but in Beast Boy's case it is obvious that he does not plan to repeat his offense. I can see no point to distrust him or to prolong this futile discussion any further."_

Vic just scratched his chin. "Well…I dunno. Donna, what do you think?"

_Cyborg: "Don't get me wrong, whether the trial's fishy or not I know Gar wouldn't purposely kill Rouge—I'm more worried 'bout Terra's big secret here! Who knows what else she could be hiding!"_

"I don't care." Sliding her chair in, the Amazon succinctly summed up her feelings on the matter. "It doesn't really matter what I think. Whether she joins or not…I don't really care."

_Wonder Girl: "After all, what am I? Just some useless leader, some fake superhero who's really the daughter of some worthless mobsters? I have no right to be a part of this discussion at all…"_

"Then it's decided!" exclaimed Jupiter joyfully. "Terra is our newest Titan!"

Gar couldn't help but to cheer.

_Beast Boy: "Tara gets to come back and be a Titan and everything works out without a hitch?! This is too perfect! It's just…awesome!"_

But despite her love's celebration, Tara Markov was more focused on the despondent Donna Troy walking through the door like she'd given up all hope in her team.

_Terra: "Don't get me wrong, I couldn't be _happier_ to be a part of the Titans! I was cool with everybody on Titans East, but the real Titans are a ton more dependable, and that's always great!_

_"But…something just doesn't feel the same, and it's not just Wally being gone. This stuff that happened with Deathstroke…it must've really done a number on them. I don't like seeing them all this mopey…I wonder what I can do about that…"_

*****THE NEXT DAY*****

*****OFF THE AIR—INFANTINO HIGH SCHOOL. KEYSTONE CITY, KANSAS, USA*****

A throng of teenagers poured into Infantino High, all rushing to make it to homeroom before the late bell, despite their lack of sleep. However, one of those teens was actually well rested and more than eager to begin his first day: Wally West, the former Teen Titan! Without powers a new life of normalcy awaited him—just what he had always wanted!

"Well, here you are, kiddo," said his aunt, Iris Allen, as she pulled up to the front door. Giving him a kiss on the cheek, she continued, "Good luck with your first day!"

"Thanks, Aunt Iris." Wally shook his head as he thought about how fast he had been enrolled here—between his uncle the Flash and his aunt the reporter, he supposed they had enough connections to pull off just about _anything_.

The world seemed to be greeting Wally with open arms as he walked up the front steps, basking in the sheer mundane pleasure of it all. A year ago he would have dreaded going to school—now he couldn't believe how happy he was just to be there, in the flesh!

Heads turned as Wally passed them, examining the former speedster from top to bottom—something that surely wasn't normal! Hushed whispers filled the air, and the red-headed teen overheard numerous mentions of his name. He was a celebrity!

_'Hell,'_ he thought, almost smirking, _'This sure isn't normal…but I sure could get used to it.'_

*****ON THE AIR—TITANS TOWER*****

It was eight in the morning, and the halls of Titans Tower were filled with nothing but silence. Their former teammate, Wally West, had to rise over two hours earlier for school, but these seven teens had absolutely no reason to be awake that early.

Unless, of course, something _woke_ them up.

"Breakfast time!" Suddenly a voice screamed to life over the loudspeaker, sending ridiculous decibels into each and every room of the tower. "C'mon you guys, the food's not gonna get any warmer!"

Tara Markov stood by the dining room table, now covered with simmering food, as she screamed into a microphone. "Come and get it! Sooooooooooo-eeeeeeeeeeeey!"

_Terra: "Heh, I bet they'll be pissed I woke 'em all up this early, but I just couldn't wait any longer! I can make one helluva breakfast if I try, and even if it's just a small thing, I bet it'll cheer everybody up!"_

"What's with the farm noises?" grunted Cyborg as he stepped off the elevator. "We're not pigs."

No sooner had the words left the metal-man's mouth than a green pig came barreling through the stairwell door and into a seat.

_Cyborg: "Me an' my big mouth…"_

Stretching back into Garfield Logan, the green kid ate several pancakes in one bite and swooned. "Tara, these are the greatest!" he exclaimed, though much was mumbled through his full mouth.

_Beast Boy: "And I'm not just sayin' that 'cause Tara cooked 'em, though it sure helps!"_

"Thanks, Gar!" exclaimed the earth-mover, happy her gesture was doing some good.

Scarfing down another pancake, the changeling replied, "No problem! Heck, I'm just happy to get some breakfast! Nobody's wanted to cook any ever since we moved in here!"

"But Gar," objected Starfire as she sat down across from him, "I have offered numerous times to make us breakfast and you have always refused!"

Suddenly he was singing another tune. "Eh, breakfast ain't _that_ important."

_Beast Boy: "Believe me, I've eaten her cooking once, and that's _enough_!"_

"So where's everybody else?" asked Terra as she sat down with her teammates, tired of waiting. Suddenly, across the table, one of the plates full of food was sucked into a vortex of black, disappearing entirely.

Smirking, Vic observed, "Well, there's Raven…kinda."

"I wondered if she actually ate," chuckled Gar.

"But what about Dick?" chimed in Kory, concern in her voice. "Even he could not sleep through Tara's calls!"

"Oh, he came down while I was still making the food," answered Terra. "He said to tell you guys that he was going out, and that his communicator _was_ on this time. Then he took all the bacon I was cooking and left."

Victor Stone pouted. "He took all the bacon?! Jerk."

_Cyborg: "What?! It's good!"_

Koriand'r, however, found more to be concerned about in that statement than her half-robotic friend.

_Starfire: "After everything that happened…it is odd for Dick to just run off again. I do hope he is okay. Despite it all…I still love him. He was hurting me too badly and I could no longer allow him to continue, but it broke my heart to tell him that. So even though we are no longer a couple, I hope he gets through whatever is going on in his head right now. I cannot just stop worrying about him so easily…"_

However, the Titans' thoughts were redirected by the sound of the elevator door opening as Wonder Girl entered the room. Though she looked agitated and was grumbling under her breath, she still looked in better shape than she had the night before.

_Wonder Girl: "A shower felt pretty good—it helped take some of the edge off. Still, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't wash away the memories of yesterday…"_

"Good morning, Donna!" exclaimed Kory in her usual boisterous way. "Tara has made breakfast for us! Please, eat!"

"It's really good," added Gar with a smile, his face covered in syrup, "Even if we _are_ eating it at eight A.M.!"

Donna toyed at the food with her fork, but she didn't look very hungry. "It's that early?" she asked, fairly surprised. "I'd completely lost track of time. Not sleeping will do that to you." Sighing, the Amazon continued, "And when I did finally manage to drift off even for just a few minutes, it was nothing but nightmares—and that was _worse_."

_Terra: "I know how she feels. Sometimes I _still_ have flashbacks 'bout those bastard scientists and everything they put me through…"_

The earth-mover slid a bottle of syrup across the table to her new teammate. "C'mon Donna, try it for me. Please?"

_Terra: "After all, she's the main reason I went through all this trouble in the first place! I was probably a brat once too—a princess who had everything handed to her—but then those scientists took it all away! Now Donna has it just as bad, and I can't help feeling sorry for her now…"_

Begrudgingly the warrior took a bite, but as she chewed she couldn't help but to smile, even if just slightly. "Tara, this is actually really good! Where did _you_ learn to cook?!"

_Cyborg: "A compliment with just a hint of condescension?! Now _that's_ our Donna!"_

"I've been everywhere, remember?" Terra reached to the counter and opened a tattered scrapbook, filled with handwritten notes, some scrawled on napkins or on the book's pages themselves. "Whenever I found some really good food, I made sure to get the recipe no matter what!"

"So," asked Beast Boy playfully, "Does this mean you'll be leavin' us for a plush contract on Food Network?" The five Titans laughed, and for the first time in a while, they felt like a real team. But even as the pleasant breakfast continued, Donna just couldn't silence the voice in the back of her head.

_Wonder Girl: "Look at them. I never thought my teammates could really pull together like this. Everything we've been through has made them better, but Hera, I just feel as if things have only gotten worse and worse for me…"_

With her food gone, Donna Troy dumped her plates in the sink and headed for the elevator. "Thanks for everything guys, really, but…but I still just need some time alone. I'm sorry."

The four remaining Titans stared sadly as the doors closed, and after nobody spoke for over a minute, Koriand'r leapt to her feet and raced to the stairs. "None of you are going to go after her?! Fine, then _I_ shall!"

_Starfire: "My friends should not have to suffer alone!"_

"She really doesn't understand what privacy means, does she?" asked Terra with a chuckle.

"Yeah," replied Vic Stone, grinning as he loaded his dishes into the dishwasher. With a shrug he added, "But she means well. Believe me, sometimes it's hard to know when to butt in or not."

_Cyborg: "An' while I'd like to think I've gotten a lot better 'bout it, it's something you still never quite master!"_

Tara Markov nodded, but then dashed off to the living room, while the metal-man instead headed for the elevator, his best friend right behind him. "Where ya goin', man?"

"To my lab," replied Vic, a determined look on his face. "There's something I…really need to look into."

_Cyborg: "An' I've let it slide long enough as it is!"_

Sensing his friend's disappointment, however, the mechanical man slapped the green kid on the back playfully and continued, "Hey, don't get me wrong, it's fun hangin' with you and Tara, but I'm sure you guys could use some alone time!"

Garfield Logan immediately caught the drift.

_Beast Boy: "Yeah! Just me an' Tara—I should've thought of it sooner!"_

Meanwhile, the former wanderer had made herself comfortable on the couch, flipping through the hundreds of channels available to the tower happily. Suddenly a green head popped out of nowhere as Gar hung upside-down over the back of the couch. "Hey Tara, let's do something! You can watch TV anytime!"

_Terra: "Sure I could, but I haven't gotten to watch any since I was a little girl, back in Markovia! I was hoping to catch up!"_

Still, Terra could only smile as Beast Boy nearly dragged her from the TV. "C'mon, I got somethin' to show ya!"

*****OFF THE AIR—MR. LOREN JUPITER'S OFFICE*****

Mr. Loren Jupiter, devious director of _The Real World: Titans Tower_, leaned back in his office chair, his feet on his desk and a sickening smile on his face. Suddenly an alarm rang, and the man slowly lowered his feet and leaned forward, slamming the snooze button on the clock on his desk. However, despite his rest being interrupted, he didn't seem perturbed—if anything, he only looked _more_ happy.

"Finally, it's time!"

Pulling a key from the cuff of his sleeve, Jupiter unlocked the oversized bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a garment that was both fearsome and freakish: the Brother Blood cowl, a weapon of unimaginable power!

Energy erupted from the cowl, engulfing Mr. Jupiter—then it began to compress until it surrounded only the cowl and the man's hands. Finally it disappeared completely, only leaving behind crackling bolts of crimson lightning.

The door to the waiting area swung open, and Jupiter's secretary, the ever reliable Ms. Lilith Clay, only gave her boss a cursory glance—until she noticed that he was unusually happy, even compared to his normal, cheerful demeanor!

"Hot date?" she asked with a chuckle, amused by the notion of Mr. Jupiter landing a girl of any sort.

"Why yes, yes I do," said Jupiter smugly as Lilith's face fell. "A date with _destiny!_"

*****ON THE AIR—TITANS TOWER, ROOFTOP*****

Donna Troy sat facing the ocean, her feet dangling over the edge of the Tower's roof as she reflected on the landscape somberly.

_Wonder Girl: "The waves crashing against the shore reminded me of Themyscara, back with the other Amazons. With everything that's happened, I was wondering if it might just be best to return—everything was so much simpler there…_

_"But, could I even be happy on Themyscara anymore? I don't know if I can go back to that much simplicity! I mean, they don't even allow _men_ there—and despite all their faults, I don't know if I can imagine a life without them anymore!_

_"It's so hard sometimes, to have so many conflicting heritages. I thought joining the Titans, that finding my parents might really help me find just where I fit in…but if anything, it's only made things _more_ complicated…"_

"Donna, there you are!" Suddenly Starfire soared past the adopted Amazon, arcing above her before landing on the roof herself. "I had searched the entire tower and was beginning to grow worried! I am so glad you are okay!"

The Tamaranian's friend, however, wasn't anywhere near as pleased to see _her_. "Of course I'm fine, Kory," she grumbled. "Okay's kind of stretching it, though." Sighing, Donna sensed Koriand'r preparing to again speak, so she quickly cut her off. "I know you mean well, but I meant it when I said I needed time alone. None of you can even _comprehend_ what I'm going through!"

"Of course we cannot," replied Starfire calmly. "Your pain is your own, and anybody who tells you they know what you are going through is lying. Still, your pain should not be something you have to bear alone—we all want to help you!"

Filled with doubt, Wonder Girl replied, "How can any of you help? I've lost _everything_, Kory! None of you can understand that!"

"Now _that_ I am not sure of." The adopted Amazon gave her friend a surprised look. "I lost my entire world when my sister sold me to the Gordanians. Gar has now lost two families, and Vic and Wally both lost what they thought made them human! We have only recovered and moved on because of each other, and we would like to help you do the same!"

_Starfire: "I do not understand why she refuses to believe me! It is almost as if she does not _want_ to feel better!"_

_Wonder Girl: "Kory really does want to help me, but the others…why would _they_ want to?!"_

"Why would they help me?!" demanded the girl wonder in a sentence that was somehow both a snarl and a sob. "They're all either intimidated by me or hate me! And you know the worst part? I deserve it! I've never done a single thing to help them! I've been judgmental and mean!" Gasping for breath between sobs, Donna punched the floor, cracking the concrete. "I don't even belong on this team anymore! Hera, my parents are criminals, even! Can I even be trusted?! What if I turn out like them?!"

Kory slid her arm around Donna. "That is ridiculous," she said, not harshly, just as a matter of fact. "We all have a choice in who we are and who we will be. Tamaranian legend tells of our all powerful Goddess, X'hal, who brought all life on Tamaran into being. She is wise, powerful, and kind, but her children were misled and became the greatest evil the Vega system ever faced!

"Or, there is even the example of my sister Komand'r and I. Our parents are considered generous leaders, and while I have tried to follow their example, my sister betrayed everything we stood for! Only _we_ decide who we will become!

"Donna, you have poured more blood and tears into this team than anyone! You have always fought hard, and always tried to do the right thing! We all have our faults, but we cannot condemn ourselves because of them! We must fight hard to overcome, and that is what we _all_ want to help you do—so please, _let us!_"

A smile filled Donna Troy's face. "Kory, if I wasn't going to let you I never would have listened this long."

_Wonder Girl: "There's been times when Kory's eternal optimism has gotten on my nerves, yeah, but it sure is hard to dislike that girl for very long! She always tries to see the best in people, and it's something I sure needed…and something I need to try harder to do myself."_

"Wonderful!" cried Starfire, embracing her friend and leaping to her feet. "This calls for a celebration! I shall make us milkshakes!"

Raising an eyebrow, the Amazon warrior could only reply with a confused, "Milkshakes? For _breakfast_?!"

"Of course," answered Kory with only a hint of hesitance. "When else would one consume milkshakes?"

Donna chuckled, amused. "Beats me. That sounds great."

And the alien princess was off, soaring down the Tower's side, again leaving her teammate with just the waves and her thoughts. This time, however, Donna didn't feel so alone.

_Wonder Girl: "So only I can decide who I will become? I thought that's what I was doing, but maybe I was just waiting for somebody to tell me who I should be all along…well, I sure know what I need to do now!"_

Meanwhile, Princess Koriand'r zoomed through an open window like a jet, touching down in the kitchen and heading towards the freezer.

_Starfire: "I meant everything I said to Donna! Yes, she has her faults, but this was no time to point that out! She needed to be cheered up, and hopefully inspired, so how could I not do that? After all, that is what friends are for!"_

"Amazing, Koriand'r—you really got through to her." Startled, the alien in question jumped and span to see Raven floating behind her, once again making the silent, unnoticed entrance that had become her trademark. "I would have never believed that Wonder Girl could be so truly touched had I not sensed it myself."

_Raven: "Indeed, the fact that it took a tragedy of this magnitude for Wonder Girl to reexamine her life makes it even more surprising that Koriand'r's words sank into her heart so easily. Koriand'r…is truly amazing—unlike any human I have ever encountered. She loves unconditionally and opens her heart to all she meets. I find it…inspiring."_

"You underestimate Donna," replied Starfire. "She cares more than she lets on. All she needed was somebody to show her the same concern back."

"Still," added the empath, "I do not understand how you are capable of such concern for someone who so rarely reciprocates…"

Crossing her arms, Kory made a rebuttal. "It is not difficult at all, truthfully. To me it seems harder to _deny_ compassion…"

_Starfire: "I simply have hope that my friends will come through. It seems so much more difficult to abandon that hope—and much more miserable!"_

"Not when you have felt what I have." The Titan avoided eye-contact with her friend, almost as if her mind was in another place entirely—reliving the emotions she had sensed over her eighteen years of life. "This world is filled with greed, selfishness, _evil_—it permeates everything, corrupting the planet and everyone on it…"

Koriand'r wasn't buying it. "You cannot truly believe that," she said, appalled. "Raven, you are an empath! I know there are many evil people, but what of the good things in life?! Wonderful first experiences, the joy of children and love and friendship! You _must_ sense them—why do you ignore them?! To me they are what life is all about—they make enduring the hard times worthwhile!"

"Of course I sense them, Koriand'r—but in the end, evil is what truly makes this world run."

_Starfire: "Poor Raven. I do not know what she has gone through to so thoroughly scar her, but I cannot let it impair her life anymore!"_

"That is only true if you make yourself believe it, Raven," said the alien princess, putting her arm around her darkness clad friend. "The world can be a wonderful place if you let it—but you are too busy shutting everybody out! Raven, I consider you my friend, but lately you have been doing some things that make me very uncomfortable!

"You were rude to Donna, and what you did to Wally, manipulating his feelings…Raven, that was awful! I know you were trying to help, but you only made things worse! I wanted to defend you, but I could not, because there is no excuse for such actions!"

Stammering, the empath replied, "I—I only did what I thought right…"

_Raven: "Indeed, I am not sure Koriand'r understands that sometimes hard choices must be made. I do not know if I can ever change the way I view people after everything I have felt from them…but she is a good friend and I actually respect her opinion. I will hear her out."_

Kory sighed. "I know. Your heart was in the right place, but you cannot manipulate people like that and expect to help them! Raven, do you truly want to be our friend? If so, then believe in us!"

The empath was unsure of what exactly to say—she was overwhelmed by her extraterrestrial companion's strong, heartfelt feelings. "I…I shall try, Koriand'r. I really will."

_Raven: "I was speaking the truth. Koriand'r is the only friend I have…so I will try this, for her."_

And despite Raven's on-camera lies and manipulations, and despite all the evil deeds she had committed and the ones she had _yet_ to perform, there was a part of her that really _did_ mean everything she said.

"Great!" exclaimed Kory, her face lighting up. "Shall I make you a celebratory milkshake too?"

_Starfire: "I was worried about both Donna _and_ Raven…I am so glad I got a chance to talk to them as I did! Being able to help them has truly brought me joy, but…still, I worry. Dick is out there alone, his heart broken, and the things that weigh on his mind only growing heavier. I wish I could help him as well…oh Dick, wherever you are, I hope you are okay…"_

*****SAN FRANCISCO ROOFTOPS*****

Dick Grayson, the Teen Titan known as Robin, had spent his morning leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Finally he had stopped, kneeling on a roof's edge, his cape whipping behind him in the wind as he looked down at the bright city.

_Robin: "G--damn, it was a lot easier to be brooding in a dirty city like New York. This place at least needs a few Gargoyles to sit on!"_

Still, the acrobat had much on his mind, thus his thoughts of architecture were fleeting—quickly replaced by more dire concerns.

_Robin: "What a s---ty day! I spent all yesterday tryin' to find Donna's parents, only for 'em to be f---ing mobsters and crush her heart even more than it already was!_

_"But even worse was the little Robin and Kory just abandoning me like that…Am I really that bad? All this time I've just been tryin' to be as useful as I can to this team. I thought bein' like Batman would be the way to do it, but hell, is it worth losin' all the people I care about?!"_

Suddenly, though, the boy's ears perked up as an alarm echoed throughout the streets, finally succeeding in snatching his attention away from his personal life. Across the street a bank was under attack, a stream of ski-mask clad robbers pouring out the entrance and towards a getaway car.

"Finally!" smiled Dick, "Some action is just what I need!"

He leapt into the air, tossing a handful of Redbird boomerangs into the fray, pinpointing their machine guns. As the weapons flew Robin soared into the crowd, landing atop one of the thug's face, driving it into the ground.

"C'mon guys, there're safer ways to make withdrawals!" quipped the Titan as he fired a series of punches into one of the robber's guts, following up with a flat-palmed strike into the bottom of his chin, snapping the man's head backwards. "I mean, don'tcha guys have ATM cards?!"

Across the street one of the thugs managed to recover his gun—just in time for a blue disk to strike its target, encasing his arm and the weapon in a thick layer of ice. Dick barely gave it a second thought, focusing more on the two opponents circling him. Leaping straight into the air, the martial artist span and planted one foot into each of their faces.

As he landed he unfurled his staff—it extended to full length as he again span, finishing off both thugs with one deft strike.

_Robin: "Man, these guys ain't even a challenge! But breaking their bones is sure making me feel better!"_

Another robber charged Dick Grayson from behind, but not even turning to look, he straightened his staff so it was parallel to his body and swung it over his shoulder—it struck the thief square in the face, shattering his nose. Before the man could even make another move Dick dropped and span his staff, striking the back of the thug's knees and sending him falling onto his back.

Robin was next greeted by the sound of a roaring engine as the final two robbers attempted to run him down in their getaway car.

"Please," he scoffed, "I ain't roadkill!" One-shot boosters in his boots flared, sending the souls flying and propelling Dick over the car. He tucked into a somersault, and as he cleared the vehicle he grabbed his grappling launcher and aimed for its bumper—until he saw something that stopped him in his tracks: a man in the middle of the road, right in the car's path!

His arms were crossed defiantly, and he was hovering just off the street, his feet pointed towards the ground. A red cape flapped behind him—he wore a blue and red costume and his black hair curled in the front. Across his chest was emblazoned a stylelized 'S' logo that was known world-wide.

The car struck the man, but he didn't budge. Instead, the vehicle's front buckled around him, eventually grinding to a halt.

Dick's jaw dropped to the ground. "Holy f---ing s---!" he exclaimed. "It's Superman!"

_Robin: "Hell, 'holy f---ing s---' ain't anywhere near strong enough to describe meetin' Superman! The guy's legendary! _Everybody_ wants to meet 'im!_

_"S---, Vic's gonna be so jealous!"_

Indeed, Superman was the most famous superhero who ever lived. Born on the planet Krypton, he was shot to Earth on a rocket by his scientist parents, just barely escaping Krypton's destruction. The last survivor of the doomed planet was found by Jonathan and Martha Kent, who raised the boy as their own son, Clark.

The Kents instilled a strong sense of right and wrong in Clark, and these morals have served him well his entire life. In fact, when his alien physiology eventually endowed him with tremendous abilities—including flight, invulnerability, and super speed, strength, and senses—his conscience drove him to use these abilities to protect mankind as the man of steel, Superman!

Superman's amazing powers and good heart endeared him to the world: he became an inspiration to all. The only people who were truly afraid of him were those he fought against: super-criminals, monsters, or even just the petty bank robbers who now found themselves at the Kryptonian's mercy!

The car's windshield shattered as it made impact with the super-hero—the sound managed to rouse a few of the battered thugs, only for them to instantly wet their pants at the sight of their getaway car bent around Superman! The impact of the crash and airbag had knocked the driver unconscious, but the passenger—in a move that could be considered brave, stupid or just sheer insanity—opened fire with his machine gun. The bullets simply ricocheted off the Justice Leaguer's chest, not even leaving a scratch.

"I wouldn't try that again if I were you," said Superman, coming off as both slightly amused and slightly annoyed. He squinted and his eyes lit up red—a quick flash or his heat vision turned the weapon piping hot.

The thug screamed as he scrambled out of the getaway car and tossed what remained of the immolated gun, frantically—and futilely—blowing on his hand to cool it off. Suddenly the thief was knocked off his feet by a bolo—by the time he hit the ground, he was wrapped tighter than a mummy in its steel cables.

Robin, however, walked right past his capture, interested in only one thing. "Superman! Dude, it's so cool to meet you! I'm a big fan!" He extended his hand. "I'm—"

"Robin, I know." Superman shook Dick's hand firmly and flashed a winning smile. "I guess you could say I'm a fan myself."

The Titan's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Wait—a fan of _us?!_"

The Justice Leaguer replied with a nod, only working Dick up more.

_Robin: "Holy s---, I never woulda thought a guy like ol' Supes here would watch MTV!"_

The Kryptonian knew exactly what his admirer was thinking. "I don't usually like to spent what little free time I have watching reality TV," he explained with a chuckle, "But this is different. You and your team represent the future of superheroes—maybe even of the Justice League! All of us are interested in how you're advancing."

Dick didn't know whether to be honored or frightened—the prospect of being watched by the League had him feeling a little of both. "So," he asked, his throat feeling scratchy, "What's the verdict?"

_Robin: "I'm 'specially interested in what Batman thinks…he was always gripin' 'bout me not livin' up to my potential, but now that I've been tryin' what he always wanted me to do anyway, will he notice?"_

"Well, a lot of us were worried about having a team governed by a television network—would any of you have real heart and good motives, or were you just out to fulfill selfish goals? Sadly, the first encounter between our two teams didn't end too well, and we still have a few minor concerns, but you kids have definitely impressed us. You've accomplished quite a bit in a short time, and you all have a lot of potential—and a lot of _heart_."

_Robin: "So maybe I didn't find out what Bats thinks, but hell, getting' a compliment from Superman is even better!"_

As Dick reveled, though, his new friend noticed a few of the bank robbers struggling to get back on their feet—and a thick crowd of reporters and fans closing in. "I'll just be a second," Superman said—and he didn't lie. Becoming a red, gold and blue streak, it only took him a second to round up all the thugs and tie them up within the two fenders of their own getaway car!

Then Dick Grayson was suddenly in the Man of Steel's arms. "Let's find someplace a little less crowded." He took to the air, flying them to a rooftop two miles away almost instantly.

"S---," gasped Dick, nearly out of breath. "That's a rush!"

_Robin: "If flying always feels like that, then no wonder Kory's always so happy and pumped! That's f---in' sweet!"_

"Sorry about that," said the Justice Leaguer. "Crowds like that can make it pretty hard to carry on a conversation."

"Yeah," replied the Titan, "Reporters can be a real pain in the ass sometimes."

Superman frowned. In his guise as Clark Kent he _was_ a reporter—but still, he thought, there was no reason to ruffle the boy's feathers. Secret identities were best kept _secret_, especially when on Cable television!

Meanwhile, though, the acrobat didn't want to seem anymore awestricken than he already was. "So," he asked, as calm as he could, "What brings you to San Francisco anyway, Supes?"

"I was helping to stop a volcanic eruption in the South Pacific," explained Superman, "And on my way back I heard the bank's alarm go off. I had time to stop by, so I did—looks like you had things pretty much under control anyway, though." However, the hero could tell not everything was quite right. "What about you? What were you doing responding to that robbery all on your own? Where's the rest of your team?"

"They're fine," responded Dick solemnly. "I just needed to be alone for a little while."

"Why? Is everything okay?"

_Robin: "I didn't wanna tell him everything that happened, not really. But he was so f---ing concerned, I just couldn't hold back. I mean, hell, it's Superman! If anybody really wants to help, it's him!"_

So the Titan spilled everything. He told him of Donna's tribulations, of Wally leaving the team and of how Raven had manipulated his mind, and, most importantly—to Dick, at least—he told him all _his _problems.

He told Superman of his failure fighting Dr. Light, and how he'd trained until he held his own against Deathstroke. Though his teammates praised him, he again felt inadequate when faced with the similarities between himself and the inept Flamebird. So he tried to reinvent himself, to emulate the dark and brooding Batman, but that only ended up hurting the little Robin, Donna and Kory! Now he didn't know if he could be both a great crime fighter and a great friend—or which one he'd rather choose.

"That's…terrible Dick," said the Kryptonian, filled with genuine concern. "I'm so sorry." He placed his hand on Robin's shoulder. "Tell me though…what are you planning on doing now?"

"I told you," sighed the boy, "I dunno! Either way I lose something I really like."

Superman's brow furrowed as he contemplated what he was being told. "So you like fighting crime, and you like your friends…do you like being dark?"

"No way," scoffed Dick. "It's no fun at all—but I thought it was worth it, if I could be better than I was before."

"But why are you so worried about that? You weren't having any problems until you _convinced_ yourself there was a problem!"

_Robin: "Man, that struck a nerve! The guy was too close for comfort—I mean, hell, a great guy like me can't be worried about failing, right?! But s---, I was, an' just as worried 'bout impressing the rest of the team. I didn't wanna let them down, but I also just didn't wanna humiliate myself! Lame!"_

Still, as the boy said, Superman had struck a nerve. "What do you know 'bout this anyway? You're the most powerful guy on the planet!"

Fortunately, the Justice Leaguer didn't seem offended. "You know, I hear that a lot, but it doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about. My teammates come to me all the time for advice, and while I never thought I had all much to tell them, they seem to appreciate what I have to say."

He paused to catch his breath. "So if you don't want to hear this, Dick, then you don't have to—but I consider Batman my friend. I can see why you would want to be like him. He's feared, respected, and from what I'm told, pretty cool. I would trust him with my life, but Dick…Batman is a _miserable_ person.

"All he can live for anymore is his mission. He's pushed more people who care for him out of his lifethen I can even _begin_ to count. I don't want to see you end up the same way.

"After all, it's not like he's the only successful hero without powers. In this line of work, it's far too easy to lose yourself in the pain and misery around you. I hope it's not too late for Batman, but you shouldn't even have to worry about that path, Dick. You're a completely different person, and that's _not _a bad thing!

"You have your own skills and strong points! You've already seen that staying distant and pushing your teammates away isn't something you like, so try something different! Make it up to them, inspire them! Really, all that matters is that you _be yourself!_ Everything else will work out!"

Dick Grayson's jaw dropped.

_Robin: "S---…it was that simple the whole time?!"_

"Wow…thanks, Superman." Smiling, Robin playfully asked, "How the hell'd you know just what to say?"

The alien shrugged. "Like I said, I've had to do this for a lot of my friends."

_Robin: "Seriously, the guy knows what he's talkin' 'bout! I knew all along I hated what I was doin'…all I really needed was somebody to tell me I didn't hafta do it!"_

Suddenly Superman winced as his incredible hearing picked up on something. "Uh-oh, there's an earthquake coming on in Japan!" Smiling, the hero asked, "Want to help?"

"Hell yeah!" exclaimed Robin without a moment's hesitation—and then a siren and flashing light came to life in his utility belt. "S---, looks like I've gotta get back too…can't keep 'em waitin' an all…"

And only a second later the boy was swept into the Man of Steel's arms and deposited back on Titans Island. "Good thing it was on my way!" he exclaimed with a smile before disappearing again. "Take care!"

_Robin: "F--- yeah, that was the coolest thing ever! Forget tryin' to be Batman! From now on, I'm just gonna be me again—and things will finally be back to bein' fun!"_

*****OFF THE AIR—THE KANE MANSION, NEW YORK*****

In the basement of the lush East-coast Kane mansion, the heiress Bette Kane—formerly the hero Flamebird of Titans East—was dressed in a white robe, circling her sensei in a boxing ring built specifically for them.

Suddenly she screamed and lashed out, attacking with an impressive stream of martial arts strikes. Ever since she'd hired her new teacher her fighting had improved tremendously—her moves had always had speed and power, but now she had the skill and flow behind them to truly make something of herself!

Her sensei agreed. "Fantastic job, Bette! Keep it up, and I'll see you again next week!"

She blushed as he walked out, but as she turned around she suddenly heard a voice in her head. _'He is correct, Bette. You've improved quite a bit.'_

Last time she'd nearly gone crazy, but this time Bette was expecting it. "Oh, Omen. What's up?"

The air in front of her rippled as the mysterious Omen again appeared to the girl, the figure's true identity hidden beneath an all concealing black and red cloak. "It's time—Jupiter is making his move!"

Though slightly scared, Bette still smiled. Finally, it was time to put her new skills to the test! "So you mean…"

"Yes. Assemble your team—it's time to save the world!"

*****ON THE AIR—OUTSIDE TITANS TOWER*****

"How much further are you gonna drag me, Gar?" protested Tara Markov as her green skinned friend pulled her through the front doors of Titans Tower and onto the rocky island below.

"Don't worry, I'm done," said the shapeshifter with a smile as he picked up a pebble and tossed it slightly into the air, catching it again. "I just wanted to show ya something!"

"What, the outside of the tower?" joked Terra. "You showed me _that_ last time!"

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "Nah, it's not that! Don't you remember what we _did_ back then?!"

His crush stopped in her tracks. "Gar, _of course_ I do!"

_Beast Boy: "Phew! If she forgot that I'd be crushed! I mean, I dunno how she could, but I always worry 'bout stuff like that! But, man, she didn't, and I'm so glad that she's the same girl she's always been!"_

_Terra: "When I talked with Gar out here last time, before we fought the Brotherhood, it was amazing! I've never connected with anybody like that! No _way_ I could forget it—I was just yankin' his chain when we first walked out!"_

"Well, then check this!" Pulling his arm back, Garfield span and tossed the stone, and both Titans watched it skip three, four, five times across the water. "I can do it now, without you helpin' out!"

"Oh Gar, that's great!" cried the earth-mover as she leapt and hugged the boy. He smiled, but then slumped as more thoughts started to weigh on his mind. Tara could feel the sudden change in his mood. "Hey, what's wrong?"

He paused, not sure what to say, but then just finally came out with it. "Why did you do it, Tara? Why did you take the heat for me back with Madame Rouge?"

Taking a step backwards, Terra looked confused. "Gar, I did it for you! I couldn't let you lose your family!"

_Terra: "I mean, he had everything to lose! He was me, but he got a cool new life! What did I have to lose—_nothing_! Me, I could live with a little more pain."_

"That's great, but…I didn't wanna lose _you_ either!"

Sighing, the blonde bowed her head, letting her hair fall over her face. "You needed them a lot more than just me Gar." She lifted her head and flashed a bright smile. "But hey, I'm here _now!_ What else matters?!"

_Beast Boy: "Hey, she's got me there! Tara's back, so what else could I ask for?!"_

_Terra: "Enough of this depressing stuff! I spend way too much time thinkin' 'bout this stuff as it is—so now that my dreams come true, let's forget it all!"_

"Heh, I guess you're right! So, whaddaya wanna do?"

Thinking for a second, Tara giggled and grabbed the green boy's hand, pulling him in close and, wrapping her hand around his neck, planted a passionate kiss onto his lips. Garfield gasped at first, like he was choking, but it only took a second for the shock to wear off and the pleasure to begin.

_Beast Boy: "Wow, that was better than I _ever_ imagined my first kiss would be! Man, I hate to curse, but really, only Dick's favorite expression can even begin to describe that:_

_"'Holy f---ing s---!'"_

_Terra: "And that made every second I spent in Zandia worth it!"_

Suddenly an alarm blared. Red lights flashed through the Tower's windows as the two Titans' communicators started shrieking.

"_Dammit!_" exclaimed both teens—but they knew what their duty was.

As they got inside, though, the Earth-mover took off in another direction. "Wait for me—I've gotta hit up the confessional! It's like you said: I better use it now, in case I can't later!"

Beast Boy looked worried. "Tara, don't say that!"

_Beast Boy: "Even if I did say it back then, I don't wanna hear that from _her_!"_

"Don't worry Gar," dismissed Tara with a wave of her hand. "I'm gonna stick around here a long time!"

_Terra: "Finally I have a place where I'm loved! I have control of my powers! What more could I ask for?! This is one place I never wanna leave!"_

*****CYBORG'S LAB*****

Victor Stone stared into the tremendously large viewscreen mounted slightly above his head. Smaller monitors all around it—attached to an expansive, state-of-the-art computer system—were all running reference checks and cross references, but the main screen only displayed Wonder Girl.

"So let me get this straight," said Cyborg, still a little jarred by the sudden sounding of the trouble alarm, "A terrorist group calling themselves the 'Fearsome Five' has invaded Alcatraz Island and claimed the prison as their new base, taking all the tourists hostage?!"

"Yeah, that's the story," replied Donna with a sigh. "I looked up these guys' FBI records and they seem more of a joke than a real threat, but still, if they've got that whole place under siege then we need to get there fast!"

"Good thing Alcatraz is just across the bay, then," replied Vic with a smile, though it quickly disappeared as he realized what had to come next. "You guys should go ahead. I still got some machines runnin' that take a bit to shut down—I'll be right behind ya in the T-Ship!"

Despite his reassurance, Donna looked worried.

_Cyborg: "Man I hated doin' that to her. After Dick and Raven didn't show up to fight Deathstroke I know this only has to dredge up bad feelings!"_

"Don't worry Donna, I'll be there—I _promise_." The adopted Amazon actually seemed appeased with this.

_Wonder Girl: "I feel like I should be angrier about this, but I'm trying my hardest not to let myself get so upset! I trust Vic anyway, so I think he'll definitely come through!"_

"Got it," said Donna Troy with a smile as her face disappeared from the screen. "See you there!"

As soon as the team leader signed out, Victor's fingers again started flying furiously across the keyboard.

_Cyborg: "I feel bad now, dammit, 'cause I wasn't all honest with Donna. I'm not worried about shuttin' down my machines—I just wanna finish my research!_

_"Y'see, somethin' really suspicious is been brewing behind the scenes here, and I'm tired of doing nothin' about it! Both Dr. Light and Deathstroke were initially hired to take us down, but we never found out who hired 'em! We still dunno who manipulated us an' the Justice League into attacking each other, or how Deathstroke got his hands on Dr. Light the last time we fought—not to mention how Gar's case got tried without him even knowin' about it!_

_"I'd been too distracted worrying 'bout Gar and Wally to look into all this, but that was a mistake. Maybe if I'd tried to track this mastermind down sooner, I could've done something to help save Terry!_

_"But, I guess there's no point feelin' guilty _now_. Instead, I'm just gonna track this guy down! I've already managed to trace some phone calls from Light and Deathstroke's bases—I had a helluva time finding them and even more trouble breaking through encryption—so hopefully I'll be able to see who these guys got in common!"_

A phone number popped onto the screen, the only number that had placed calls to both mercenaries. "Finally," smiled Vic as he cracked his fingers and began typing. "Let's see who you are!"

Cyborg's encryption codes traced the number through 15 states and 37 countries, following it through every effort to shake off any nosy intruders until finally the name of the true caller was revealed—much to Victor's surprise!

"_Loren Jupiter?!_"

More upset, outraged, and curious than ever, the technical master managed to hack into Jupiter's system—the manager's files opened one after another, revealing to the Titan all of his corrupt dealings and shady alliances.

"Damn!" cried Cyborg as he slammed his fist on the console. "How could he do that to us?! What's he tryin' to pull off, playin' us like this?!"

Unfortunately, he wouldn't have time to find an answer. Suddenly red lights started flashing, accompanied by an obnoxiously loud siren that made the trouble alert seem tame in comparison. "Security breach—Terminal has been remotely accessed," announced the computer in a monotone and ironically calm voice. "Complete self-destruct in five, four…"

"No no no no _NO!_" shouted Victor Stone, growing more panicked with each word as he frantically jammed buttons, the numbers still counting down behind him—but there just wasn't enough time.

Windows were shattered by intense, raging flames that lit up the sky surrounding Titans Tower.

Cyborg's lab had been completely destroyed.

Next time: Begin Endgame!

OOC: Man, I've been waiting a really, really long time to make that cameo!


	23. Begin Endgame!

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and are owned by DC Comics.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 23: Begin Endgame!**

**ROLE CALL:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Pure-hearted alien powerhouse.

**Terra—**Tara Markov: Runaway and wanderer with control over the very Earth itself!

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

*****OFF THE AIR—INFANTINO HIGH SCHOOL. KEYSTONE CITY, KANSAS, USA*****

Sixteen years ago a boy named Wally West was born in the small, plain town of Blue Valley, Nebraska. Though a small child, he had large dreams—of being a fireman, or an astronaut, or maybe even a super-hero!

Wally's parents, however, put down their son's aspirations as often as they could. They meant well—the Wests knew the world was a harsh place and just wanted Wally spared the pain so many dreamers are often met with. Still, the boy was crushed—but as time went on, his dreams became nothing but distant memories. Wally West became as plain as the town he grew up in, wanting nothing more than a normal suburban life.

Wally nearly lost that possibility, though, when a freak accident turned him into an energy based lifeform known as Speed. Faced with the loss of everything that had ever made him normal, Speed very nearly lost his mind. Only the timely intervention of his teammate Cyborg and his uncle, the Flash, was able to rescue the teenager from the depths of despair.

With his physical body returned to him and his powers gone, Wally was finally able to resume his normal life; he'd never been happier! Now it was his first day at Infantino High School, and he was anticipating things to be just like they had always been, back when he mostly stayed below the radar. Much to his surprise, though, he was greeted by the exact opposite!

At first all the attention was great, but by the time sixth period rolled around, Wally was thoroughly sick of it!

"Class, I'd like to introduce you to our new student: Wally West!" This was the sixth time the former Titan had been presented to a class that day, and each time it was the same: at first, a few of the kids seemed to recognize him, but once they heard his name, all their faces lit up! "Wally, do you have anything to say to the class?"

"Not really," shrugged the reluctant celebrity as he made his way towards a vacant desk. "Just hey, I guess."

Much to his chagrin, though, his classmates weren't going to give up that easily. "What, you're _the_ Wally West?! From _'The Real World'_?!"

"So you got your body back?! I'm so happy for you!"

"I can't wait to spoil this on the forums!"

"So, that guy on the new promo really was Wally with his body back! I knew it! The new episode marathon this afternoon should be awesome!" That one just made the boy stop and think for a second—that explained why people were recognizing him!

For a moment Wally was frustrated that even after he was gone, Jupiter was still banking in on his suffering, but the objection quickly passed. _'After all,'_ he thought, _'At least it's something _good_ to get these tools all worked up over for a change.'_

Fortunately, before questioning could go any further the teacher interjected, "Class! You'll have plenty of time left to learn about your new classmate, but I only have forty-five minutes to teach you about carbon dating! Simmer down!"

Though far more interested in what Wally had to say, the kids shut up—all except for Joe Polanski, who sat behind the former Titan. His 200 pounds of pure muscle made him the most intimidating guy in school, which Wally found out for himself as Joe's hands suddenly clamped down on both of his shoulders.

"Hey, Titan boy," whispered Joe over Wally's shoulder, "When're ya gonna show off for us? Cant'cha run 'round the world in, like, faster'n I can blink?"

_'Great. Too bad this guy's brain isn't as big as his body,'_ thought Wally with a sigh. "No, I _can't_ do that anymore. I gave my powers up."

A vein nearly exploded in Joe's neck. "Why t'hell wouldja do that?!"

Wally buried his face in his hands, knowing it was futile before he even spoke—yet, with seemingly little choice, he explained himself anyway. "My powers took away my _body_! All I wanted was to be normal again!"

"That's stupid," chuckled Joe. "If I had powers, no _way_ would I come back to this hellhole! I'd do anything I wanted!"

"You're the stupid one then, dumbass," growled Wally without thinking. "Nobody could enjoy my powers."

The former Teen Titan had said the words so casually he barely realized what was coming out of his mouth, but Joe Polanski was furious. With one devastating movement he knocked Wally from his chair. "Listen, super-hero or not, nobody insults me!"

"Joseph!" The shocked teacher quickly intervened. "To the principal's office, now!"

Begrudgingly, Joe crossed his arms and moved towards the door. "West: you, me, the court yard after school. Don't chicken out."

As Wally climbed back into his desk, he was more annoyed than worried—even without powers to fight back with. _'God, I just got challenged to a fight by some pumped up jock. This is so high school, so…juvenile._

_'I would never give up my body again, but maybe I was wrong about the whole super-hero thing. I was never really able to give it a fair chance.'_ Looking around the room one more time, Wally just sighed. _'It sure beats the hell outta this place, that's for sure. I wanted to be normal so bad, I actually thought I _wanted_ to be in school!'_

*****ON THE AIR—OVER SAN FRANCISCO BAY. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

A boulder soared over San Francisco bay; aboard road three Teen Titans, while three more flew above it. Their destination was Alcatraz Island, the former prison that was now a popular tourist destination. It had been taken over by a group of supervillains who were planning on making it their new base—but for now, they would settle for holding all its tourists hostage! With the scene of the crime practically visible from their base, it was a given that the Teen Titans would be the first ones called to the scene!

"Man," grumbled Gar Logan, the animal shapeshifter known as Beast Boy, "Could these guys have chosen a worse time to attack? Tara an' me were hangin' out!"

The green boy glanced happily to the thin blonde terrakinetic girl beside him. Golden energy surrounded the girl, Tara Markov, as she commanded the boulder to carry the two, plus the acrobat Robin, over the waters.

"You've had all day to hang out," replied the team leader, Wonder Girl, with slight annoyance in her voice. Starfire and Raven flew beside her, the three not needing their teammate's abilities to make it across the bay.

Gar raised an eyebrow. "Really?! It doesn't seem like it."

_Beast Boy: "I guess time flies when you're havin' fun!"_

"Don't worry Gar," added Tara with a chuckle, "We'll have all the time in the world to spend together after this."

Behind them, Dick Grayson chuckled. "Gar and Tara, sittin' on a rock. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Though Gar blushed, Terra's smile just grew. Above them, Starfire laughed.

_Robin: "Yeah, I made her laugh! That's a good sign all right! I mean...I really don't want to lose Kory. I think I may even love that girl...and I always said I'd _never_ fall in love! I know I hurt her bad, so I'm gonna do everything I can to win her back!"_

_Starfire: "It is so good to see Dick back with us and laughing again! It feels like forever since I have seen him so happy! I wonder what has changed?"_

As she always did when the topic strayed too far, Raven brought the conversation back around. "So, Wonder Girl, what are we up against?"

"These guys that call themselves the Fearsome Five," replied Donna. "They've got some big time powers, but small time brains—they've mostly robbed banks and other small scale stuff. Rumor in the underworld is that four of the members have followed a new boss, but if they're doing something as stupid as trying to turn a national monument into their base, then I doubt he's much smarter than the old one."

_Wonder Girl: "Which, frankly, is _fine_ with me. After Deathstroke, I never want to see another 'smart' enemy again!'_

"Then this mission seems quite simple!" exclaimed Princess Koriand'r. "We just go in there and stop them!"

"Always a good plan!" chimed Dick—Donna just buried her face in her palm.

"No it's not, especially not this time!" protested the adopted Amazon. "They have hostages! We have to be more delicate about this! They're not just going to stand outside and attack us!"

All the while, as they argued their strategies, Alcatraz Island grew closer and closer, until finally it came into view. Some of the Titans didn't notice at first, but Beast Boy and Terra immediately burst into hysterics.

"Gar, what's that?" laughed the earth-mover in a playful, kidding tone.

"Why, I believe it's the Fearsome Five standing outside attacking us!"

_Wonder Girl: "Smart aleck kids..."_

A ring of neon pink energy soared towards them, growing larger the further away it got from the island. "I sense a multitude of powerful, conflicting forces within that attack," said Raven as she started to disappear into her dark cloak. "I suggest all of you get out of its way."

"Duh!" exclaimed Tara as she crouched low and raised her hands. "You guys better hang onto something!" The boulder followed her command and veered straight up, out of the attack's range. Gar yelped and became a tiger, trying to sink his claws into the rock's sheer face. When that failed, he just took flight as an eagle instead.

Ever the daredevil, Robin just pulled a Redbird boomerang from his belt and jabbed its sharp edge into the boulder, hanging vertically from it like he was climbing a mountainside. "F---, what a rush!" he said in a marveled, hushed voice.

_Robin: "Hell, why would I need powers when I've got friends with such cool ones already?!"_

The Titans weren't out of danger yet. Yet another ring of pink power soared towards them, but this time it was accompanied by about two dozen missiles that fired from small silos hidden around the island.

"Great," growled Donna Troy, "They're trying to split us up!"

_Wonder Girl: "That's the same strategy Deathstroke used! Divide and conquer!"_

"I do not sense that much thought behind the assault," said Raven, appearing from nowhere. "They are simply trying to destroy us, one way or another. I sense only four on the outside—their boss must be waiting within the prison for us. I will go after him. Even then, you have the advantage, five against four, right?"

Raven vanished, teleporting inside of Alcatraz, leaving the team leader pondering her words.

_Wonder Girl: "She's right! Not that I like her running off like that by herself, but she's right! We can take the Fearsome Five down! I wanted to feel like I could have a little more faith in my team, so what better time to start than now?!"_

"Alright team, if they want to split us up, then split up! Once we've taken care of them, we'll move inside!" The girl wonder actually smiled for a second as she continued, "I just need you guys to make it there in one piece! Can I trust you to get through?!"

"Hell yeah!" responded Robin, and his cheer was quickly followed by his three teammates.

The alien powerhouse soared high, unleashing a blinding display of Starbolt attacks that demolished a number of the missiles. The impression of her long red hair soared behind her like a trail of fire as she weaved between the few remaining projectiles, picking them off one by one with quick, precise shots of fluorescent green.

_Starfire: "Their paths are so simple to decipher, it is almost boring shooting those weapons down!"_

Her former boyfriend, however, was conferring with Terra. "Hey Tara! Your boulder may be the only thing big enough to stop that stupid pink ring!"

One could practically see the wheels turning within the girl's head as her smile grew wider. "Good idea! I'm getting pretty sick of looking at it myself!" Golden energy flared around her gloved hands as two small chunks of the rock broke free, levitating the two Titans in mid-air as the rest of the boulder hurled into the hot pink attack.

Time almost seemed to freeze as the boulder was immersed in pink, floating for a second before exploding, sending chunks of stone and dirt flying in all directions. With Tara's abilities, it was easy to direct the debris away from her path, but Robin was knocked right off his perch.

His cape caught the wind and expanded like a glider, slowing his fall, but no matter how slow he fell, there was nothing to hit below but the frigid water!

_Robin: "Man, this costume is way too f---ing hard to get on an' off dry—no way in hell I wanna get it wet!"_

Suddenly, though, he felt something grab his hand. Opening his eyes, Dick saw he was being flown high into the air—courtesy of his savior, Koriand'r!

"Woah, Kory! I...I didn't know if you'd catch me!"

"Dick, I would never let you fall." The boy's face was suddenly filled with joy, and Kory realized what she had implied. "I would never allow harm to come to _any_ of my friends!"

And the acrobat's spirits fell right back just as fast as they had risen. "Oh."

_Robin: "S---, I hoped that was her getting over it!"_

_Starfire: "Ever since he came back from the city Dick has been surprisingly pleasant, but...I do not want to lead him on. He still hurt me quite badly, and I do not know if I can just let that go!"_

Suddenly their attention was diverted by a large chunk of concrete—which looked like it had been ripped from the former prison's walls itself—soaring straight for them. "Take that, bugs!" cried a large man from the island's shore. Wearing a yellow jumpsuit, he was hunched and bearing a set of fangs in a bestial manner. Fur covered nearly all of his massive, muscle packed body.

"Kory, just get me to 'im! I'll take care of the rest!"

"All right..." Starfire tossed Robin with all her Tamaranian strength, just seconds later dodging the soaring chunk of concrete. Dick soared just as quickly towards their target, striking the Fearsome Fiver dead in the chest with both feet. However, it was _Dick_ who was sent flying, sprawling across the sand as his opponent didn't even budge.

Scrambling onto his feet, Robin rubbed his aching head. "S---, you're heavy as a rock!

Maybe you need to go on a diet, y'know, drop a few hundred pounds?!"

The beast-man roared in outrage. "Nobody insults Mammoth!" The ground rumbled as he charged the Titan. "I make you flat as pancake!"

_Robin: "Hard as a rock, dumb as a rock. Oh well, a guy can't have everything—unless he's me!"_

Suddenly, though, a flash of orange and green intercepted the massive villain. Kory's fist was surrounded by a surging Starbolt as her uppercut connected with Mammoth's chin, which actually managed to knock the unmovable villain backwards!

"Nobody hurts my friends!" exclaimed the angered alien as she floated at Dick's side.

_Robin: "Hell, so maybe I can't take the guy on alone. There's nobody I'd rather fight with than Kory!"_

What was left of Terra's decimated boulder fell into the bay, splashing water all over as she landed on the island's shore, brushing her hair out of her eye and surveying her surroundings.

"Why, lookie what we got here, Billy!"

Tara span to see two identical men, each tall and skinny and wearing a bright red full body jumpsuit with a multiplication sign on the chest. Dark visors and red hoods covered their heads.

"I see 'er, Billy! My my, we's gotten us a pretty one, yessiree bob!"

The earth-mover nearly hurled. "Ugh, rednecks. I wandered away from the South to get away from guys like you!"

One of the Billys walked towards her, trying to take her hand. "Why, pretty little thangs like you ain't s'posed to mouth off! Don't you worry your little head off—Billy Numerous's a perfect gentleman!"

"Ew," replied Terra, rolling her eyes. The ground beneath the closer Billy uprooted and sent him flying. As he hit the dirt with a thud, the girl just grinned. "One down, one to go."

Billy Numerous's face dropped. "Billy!" A shocked look of anguish was replaced by one of outrage. "Ain't nobody hurt Billy Numerous!" Suddenly he started to shimmer and vibrate, and clones started to appear, extending out of his body and replicating endlessly, until over 100 exact copies of the redneck villain surrounded the one Teen Titan. "Right, Billys?!"

"YEAH!"

Tara Markov just sighed and took a fighting stance. "If there's one thing I hate more than a redneck, it's a hundred of 'em!"

Armed with nothing but their fists and sheer numbers—which was actually quite formidable—the army of Billys charged Terra. The terrakinetic sent rocks flying left and right, uprooting dirt and sending the clones tumbling. As they hit the ground they would disappear with a pop—a sign that they were not truly living beings.

Still, they were real enough to do damage, and Tara couldn't take them down fast enough. They stormed past her defenses, cloning new copies of themselves as they went, until they all were just close enough to pile up on her, making a giant mound of Billy Numerous.

"Now lookit you done, Billy!" scolded one of the Billy clones. "You've gone'n crushed 'er! Now how d'you reckon we're gonna do anything with 'er if we're all piled up on 'er like this?!"

One of the Billys beneath him shrugged, but before any of them could offer an answer they were immersed in a pillar of golden energy. Tara Markov could be heard screaming beneath them, and suddenly the ground erupted, sending all the dirt, sand and stone surrounding her flying in every direction, swirling like a whirlwind..

Every last Billy Numerous was knocked out cold, and as they disappeared, only the final one was left solid, unable to continue replicating. Terra just smiled, and after she caught her breath, she only had one thing to say to her unconscious opponent.

"Well, looks like I was right! Rednecks _do_ get stupider when you have more of them together!"

"Ha, look at Billy go!" Standing on the other side of the shore while his teammate was still struggling with his opponent was a diminutive ten year old, wearing a green leather suit, goggles and a circular, shiny silver backpack. "Even all of those nitwits together aren't as smart as I am, but at least they can punch, right Jinx?"

Standing close to the loudmouthed boy genius was Jinx, a pale skinned young woman with long pink hair adorned with numerous beads and other hair accessories. Her fingernails were painted black, and her shirt and dress were all the same shade, all made of soft velvet. She wore black army boots and a black choker necklace—to call her gothic would have been an understatement.

"If I were you I'd be more worried about myself than Billy, Gizmo," sighed the girl as she rolled her eyes. Pointing both her arms into the air, she continued to fire pink energy blasts, the same kind that had been giving the Titans so much trouble. "You should probably look up."

Indeed, above Gizmo was a green rhino, falling face first towards him. As he saw him, though, the boy just smirked. "Please, I knew he was comin'! I've got radar up the wazoo!"

_Beast Boy: "Ick. I know he wasn't serious, but still, not a pleasant thought!"_

Just as Gar's animal form was ready to strike, several bursts of blue energy shot from Gizmo's backpack, with two small wings and a set of thrusters appearing in their place. The Fearsome Fiver took to the air, and with two more small bursts of blue two missiles launchers extended over his shoulder.

"Fear the Gizmopak G1200!" exclaimed Gizmo as missiles fired from the two launchers. "There's over 1200 weapons the size of pins stationed all over it—and I can use any of 'em any time I want by usin' its built in size-manipulator to bring them to full size!"

On the ground, Garfield Logan grimaced. "Man, nobody as small as you should be that smart!" Then, as missiles rained down all around him, he took the form of a pterodactyl and soared into the sky, whizzing between the explosive projectiles like a pro.

_Beast Boy: "Dude! I've never been in a dog fight before...well, at least not without actually bein' a dog!"_

Gar looked over his shoulder—as well as a pterodactyl could, anyway—and was happy to see some more fizzle out and spiral into the bay to detonate harmlessly. And, despite what one would think, he was happy to see that he was finally growing close to the pint-sized inventor as well!

"Hey, stay away from me, ya stinkin' freak!" cried the loudmouthed child as he continued to fire missiles—but by now Gar had a clear shot, and soared right through them. In fact, he nearly collided with Gizmo, but at just the last second he shrank into a chimpanzee and landed on his opponent's back.

He grasped the backpack's wings and, growing into a gorilla, proceeded to rip them straight off!

_Beast Boy: "Ha! He should have packed some extra-wings!"_

"What's freakin' wrong with ya?!" cried Gizmo as they spiraled out of control, his thrusters no longer able to be directed without the wings. Hanging on to his backpack, the gorilla shrank into Garfield's human form.

"Hey, just tryin' to win," chuckled Gar, shrugging slightly.

Another burst of blue came from the Gizmopak G1200 as a new weapon grew to full size—this time a double barreled energy rifle! It pivoted on an extended arm until it faced the green boy. "Well so am I, so get offa me!"

Again becoming a nimble chimpanzee, Beast Boy leapt over a blast, but his opponent wasn't done showing off new tricks. He shut off his thruster and again shrank it, instead unleashing another weapon. Four long mechanical legs, resembling a spider's, grew from the side, and Gizmo span in mid-air, colliding the legs with Gar and sending him falling to the ground.

_Beast Boy: "Ha, he's just jealous he can't _really_ become a spider! Well, wait till he sees what I got in store for 'im next! He'll give up that stupid Gizmo-vac for sure!"_

The second the shapeshifter hit the ground he had to roll to avoid more gunfire, but he didn't seem upset. Indeed, as Gizmo's spider-legs touched down a few seconds later, he was actually smiling. "_Four_ legs?! That's nothing!"

Gar stretched, his body shrinking while his arms multiplied and grew. He had become a giant squid, and he wasted no time in wrapping a tentacle around each one of his opponent's mechanical legs and tying them together.

"I'll make you seafood!" threatened Gizmo as he started to fire frantically, but before the shots could land Gar disappeared, letting the now unsupported Fearsome Fiver fall flat on his back. The legs disappeared, shrank back onto his backpack, and the tiny tinkerer climbed to his feet. "Show yourself already, ya moron!"

Suddenly electricity surged as Beast Boy, now an electric eel, channeled the destructive energy into the Gizmopak G1200, frying its delicate internal circuits. Gizmo screamed and ran in circles as Gar sat on the ground and laughed.

Finally the boy managed to pull off his short-circuiting equipment. "What're you laughing at?!" he growled angrily.

"You!" responded Garfield, unable to contain his laughter.

"Well stop it! Ya think I don't have weapons on me?!" Gizmo pulled some grenades from his belt, but by the time he looked up to throw them, he only saw a kangaroo leaping towards him. "Oh poop!" Spinning, Beast Boy knocked him out cold with one lash from his tail.

_Beast Boy: "The winner, and still champeen…Beast Boy!"_

That left Wonder Girl the last Titan still in the sky, where she soared between Jinx's perplexing pink attacks. One zoomed straight towards her face, and with almost no time to react, she managed to knock it aside with her unbreakable bracelet.

"There's no way you're going to be able to hit me!" cried Donna as she took a chance and charged towards the shore. "Believe me, far better than you have tried!"

"Please," replied Jinx, almost sounding bored, as she shot an attack, not at her opponent, but into the water beneath her. "As if that's all they can do!"

As the pink struck the water it exploded, rushing upwards like a waterspout that completely overwhelmed Donna. Jinx continued her assault, sending half a dozen projectiles across the water, each creating more spurts of water that actually shot at an angle, knocking the Titan to the shore, where she lay washed up on the beach.

_Wonder Girl: "I've ended up in that position many times before—flat on my face, soaked to the bone, spitting out seaweed and salt. It used to be the price for getting downed during an Amazon training session on the beach—now it's just insulting!"_

As the drenched adopted Amazon climbed to her feet, she grumbled, "Well, and here I just thought those were energy blasts. What, are you telekinetic or something?"

"No," replied Jinx playfully, "I'm just bad luck." Suddenly another sparking pink blast burst to life in her palm, and she hurled it like a star pitcher would a baseball. "And these are my bad luck hexes!"

Donna may have had trigger-hair reflexes, but they were of no use when an attack wasn't even _aimed_ at her—as was the case here. Jinx's hex struck the ground right in front of her feet, causing the rock and sand beneath her to cave in, falling into a seemingly bottomless pit!

_Wonder Girl: "Okay, I have to admit, that's a pretty cool power. But still, causing a cave-in can't do much against someone who can fly! It does keep me at an arms length, though, but it's not like I can't fight from a distance!"_

Taking off, the girl wonder soared forward, outrunning the growing hole and reaching for her lasso. A second later the mystical lariat was hurling through the air and towards her unfortunate opponent, but Jinx didn't seem too scared.

"Okay, looks like you've got some reach," admitted the goth, "but it's too bad for you coming right at me is pretty worthless!" She unfurled her palm and unleashed a potent blast of bad luck, sending the lasso whirling in the other direction, where it ensnared a jagged boulder.

_Wonder Girl: "So, she wants to be like that?! Fine! I don't think she can even begin to comprehend all the strategies I've learned in my life!"_

So instead of letting her weapon go, the Titan just yanked and turned, pulling the tied-up rock right out of the ground and swinging it at Jinx like a ball-and-chain. The black-clad girl never even flinched as it grew closer and closer; finally it was nearly upon her, and Jinx just calmly outstretched her hand and released a point-blank hex.

"Here, you can have this back." Jinx couldn't help but to smile as the boulder immediately reversed directions, swinging twice as fast back towards Wonder Girl. She took to the air, but her opponent had things covered—hexes flew from all directions, striking the ground, the boulder, and other nearby rocks, and causing every last object it hit to blow into pieces!

It pushed Donna Troy to her limits, but she managed to evade the debris, weaving and dodging as fast as her enhanced-speed allowed her—until Jinx chipped in one last hex into one last rock, which caused one last explosion. When the smoke cleared, the Titan had one leg trapped beneath the pile of rubble.

"Oh no!" cried Jinx, mocking her fallen opponent. "Whatever are you going to do now?!"

"Oh, just quit gloating and finish me off already," Donna said with a snarl.

"With pleasure." Smiling, Jinx extended her arm and let a ball of "bad luck" grow, crackling with pink energy. "If you can, let me know what the afterlife's like! I've always been curious!"

_Wonder Girl: "She's so arrogant! Oh well, it worked out fine for me—there's no _way_ I'd let this stop me!"_

Indeed, Donna's face filled with a smile as she swung her supposedly trapped leg, flinging the rubble that was atop it past the hex and straight into the stunned Jinx. She didn't even have time to retaliate as it struck and sent her flying into one of the prison's walls. Still, Wonder Girl wasn't done yet. She burst forward and, clasping both fists together, swung her bracelets into the giant hex. It was sent flying in the opposite direction—straight into the wall above of Jinx!

The goth screamed as her own powers betrayed her and the wall collapsed, leaving half her body buried by the heavy stones. She was out cold.

"I've had enough bad luck lately," said Donna Troy as she walked away. "I don't need yours."

While the rest of the Titans plowed through their enemies, Robin and Starfire were having slight trouble with theirs, the super strong, nigh-invulnerable beast-man known as Mammoth. It wasn't that he was too strong for them—it was simply that their attacks did nothing to stop him!

Starbolts fired from the Tamaranian's hands like machine-gun fire, but Mammoth just charged through it, the energy attacks bouncing off him as if he was a tank. He drew within striking distance and bared his claws, but by the time he could swipe at her the alien was already high above him.

"Enough!" she cried as she fired a potent blast of fluorescent green, but Mammoth was far too fast to let it hit, even if it _could_ effect him; he leapt and somersaulted off a rocky crag, trying to get high enough to tag his airborne opponent.

Suddenly, though, a blue disk struck him in the chest, exploding into a shimmering arc of sub-zero sparks and frozen crystals. Mammoth's ice-encased form—weighed down by his dense body—fell to the ground like a rocket.

"S---!" Suddenly Dick realized what a mistake that was—if Mammoth hit the ground like that, he'd be shattered, left in a million pieces! "Kory!"

"Do not worry!" cried Starfire, soaring down low to catch the Fearsome Fiver, "I have him!"

_Starfire: "Back on Tamaran, the very idea of letting thieves or murderers live would be considered insanity! But here, it is _law_, even _if_ one held begrudgingly...all my time here on Earth I have struggled with this concept, but it seems the longer I stay here, the easier it is to uphold!"_

The Mammoth-sicle landed with a thud in the Tamaranian's arms, but he didn't remain there for long—from deep inside the thick, icy casing emanated a roar filled with primal fury. Suddenly Mammoth broke free, shattering his sub-zero prison and attacking his savior with reckless abandon!

"Well, if that didn't work guess a bolo's gonna be pretty f---ing pointless then," remarked Robin—but he didn't let that deter him as he reached for his belt.

_Robin: "I think I know what was buggin' me all this time now...I've always been better'n everybody around me, all my life! But now I work with girls that could crush me with their pinky and guys that can turn into f---ing wildebeests...and it was just like, how can I compete with that?!_

_"I thought bein' like Batman was the answer, but hell, that just wasn't for me. Thanks to Superman, I realize it now...All I gotta do's just be me! That's all this team's ever needed! So maybe I can't hurt this Mammoth jerk...then I'll just _find_ another way to win__!"_

"Hey, you overgrown shag-rug! Think fast!" Dick Grayson let loose with a handful of explosive disks that bombarded his massive opponent as he landed. "Maybe'll all that thikin'll do ya some good—or maybe it'll just fry your brain! Either way, it's an improvement!"

With his claws bared the beast-like villain tore through the disks as he stampeded forward, the ground rumbling beneath them. "You no insult Mammoth!" he cried with outrage. "Me make you stop!"

"Well, you can _try_," said Dick with a sly smile as he leapt above the monster's razor sharp claws. Mammoth reached over his head to try and tag his agile opponent, but the Titan just pushed off his back and somersaulted out of reach. "And, of course, you won't make it, s--- head!"

The Fearsome Fiver was so angry his face was turning red—Dick was surprised steam wasn't floating out of his ears—but before he could further pursue Robin a Starbolt flew at him, a large solid beam moving as fast as a bullet train! Just the force of it moving closer blew Dick off his feet!

Yet, Mammoth just held out his hand in front of his head and caught most of the beam's heft in his palm, letting the raging, destructive bolt fizzle out feet away from him. Princess Koriand'r was right behind it, screaming as she span into a ferocious Tamaranian martial art strike. Snarling, her opponent caught that attack as well and reciprocated in kind, sending the beautiful Titan tumbling across the island.

_Starfire: "Donna said that these villains had great powers but no brains...but I never expected them to be _this_ strong! Do not get me wrong, I have no problem fighting somebody stronger than myself, but his moves have no pattern or style! He moves like an animal, on instinct! That is difficult to counter!"_

But that didn't mean the alien was going to give up! As she rose to her feet she unleashed a volley of tiny Starbolts as cover—while they bounced harmlessly off Mammoth's body, he covered his face with his arms, apparently to protect it.

_Robin: "Hey, looks like the little Robin's whole 'observe everything around you' lectures are finally payin' off! He protected his head! That must be his weak-point! About time!"_

"Kory!" called the detective. "It's his head! We can hurt him if we hit his head!"

"Easier said than done!" replied Kory, firing attacks from the air. "He is too fast to hit from this distance, and he will not let me get close enough to make a difference!"

It only took Robin a second to come up with a solution. "Then let me handle it! Get in the sky and be ready to attack! I'll get this f---er to hold still!"

"What?! Are you sure that is safe?!"

"Safe? Hell no!" Despite that, though, Dick just flashed her his biggest grin. "But I've handled worse!"

And that was enough for her. Starfire took the sky, her hair burning behind her like a dancing flame. Mammoth, however, just smiled. He cracked his knuckles and bared his claws. "Good. Mammoth want to tear you apart first anyway!"

"Well too bad!" Throwing both arms to his side, Dick tossed a dozen black balls into the fray—as they hit the ground they spewed a thick screen of smoke. "Nobody gets what they want all the time—not even me!"

Mammoth choked on the smoke, flailing and slashing aimlessly in all directions. Sounds echoed around him like somebody was attacking, but by the time the smoke cleared, nobody had laid a finger on the massive beast.

"Hey donkey-f---er! I thought you were going to tear me apart?!" Robin called to his opponent from atop a boulder in the distance. "Well, aren't'cha?! Come an' get me!"

"You will _die!_" cried Mammoth as he charged—and was promptly caught up in an intricately spun web of steel wires. Robin had strung over half a dozen grappling launchers all around the Fearsome Fiver, and as soon as he moved he'd sprung them.

Now Mammoth was wrapped tight in the cocoon-like trap—if it could hold him! "Mammoth can get outta this!"

"I'm sure you can!" laughed Dick Grayson as he pointed to the sky. "But by then, she'll have finished ya off!"

His jaw dropping, Mammoth stared up and saw Starfire floating above him, a shimmering ball of green pulsating in her palms. She screamed and let the Starbolt fly, and as always, her aim was true. The attack exploded in a brilliant flash of green as it struck Mammoth's head, and as the smoke cleared, the beast was out cold!

"Dick, that was amazing!" cried Kory as she soared into the boy and trapped him within her massive bear-hug. "Good job!" His face buried in her bosom, the acrobat just mumbled.

_Robin: "I'dve said something back, but y'know, boobies were in my face."_

It took that long for Koriand'r to realize what she had done, and she suddenly let go and took several quick steps backwards.

_Starfire: "I do not like having to restrain my actions and feelings…it goes against my nature. I do not want to make Dick think that I want to get back together with him, but it is hard to not be enthusiastic around him…_

_"Especially today! Today he has been the Dick I fell in love with in the first place! He was brave, funny and charming! But…I cannot help thinking about what Donna told me when I was first interested in Dick, that he would only hurt me…and he did. And back then, Dick was unable to admit his true feelings about me…and now he refuses to tell me why he was being so secretive…and even though he has returned to his normal behavior, he still has not told me why! I would like to think I could trust him again, I really could…but I cannot. Not yet."_

_Robin: "S---…she's still not feelin' me. What more will it take?!"_

The silence between the two Titans felt like it could separate worlds, but fortunately their teammates put an end to the awkward moment. "Hey, get up here you two! We're not gettin' any younger!"

Wonder Girl, Terra and Beast Boy were waiting for them by the door. "Good job, guys!" exclaimed Donna with a smile. "I didn't think we'd be able to make it past them that easily!"

"Hopefully the rest of our mission will be just as easy," replied Kory as she wound her arms and released a Starbolt that sent the massive prison doors flying off their hinges and across the island. "Now, to help Raven!"

"Not just yet," interjected Donna. "Raven can take care of herself. We need to get to the hostages first!"

_Starfire: "I suppose Donna was right. If _any_ of us can hold our own, it is Raven…but even if they are strong, I still worry about my friends!"_

*****OFF THE AIR—SECRET ROOM BEHIND LOREN JUPITER'S OFFICE*****

Hidden behind a panel in the office of Mr. Loren Jupiter, manager of the Teen Titans, was an expansive room. Dimly lit, the walls were lined with a seemingly endless supply of tall computer terminals, blinking machines of a mysterious purpose. For the moment it was empty, its owner having far more important things to think about.

Suddenly, though, the silence was shattered by the sound of a trumpet. A wormhole opened in the middle of the room, courtesy of the Herald—Mal Duncan—and his Gabriel Horn. The rest of Titans East followed behind him: Karen Beecher, the cybernetics expert known as Bumblebee. Bette Kane, the heiress and martial artist known as Flamebird. Roy Harper, the government sanctioned weapons master known as Arsenal. Bart Allen, the hyperactive super-speedster from the future known as Impulse. Francis Kane, the bi-polar magnetic girl known as Magenta. And finally, the last one through the wormhole was Omen, a mysterious figure hidden beneath an expansive black and red cloak.

It was Omen who had reassembled the team in this hidden room, and now it was Omen who took charge. "This is it: Jupiter's secret room. We cannot waste anymore time if we are to stop his plans."

"I still can't believe Jupiter's evil!" stammered Fran. "He always seemed so nice!"

"The guy seemed like a tool to me," grunted Herald, "So yeah, I'm surprised he could pull something like this off."

"You are both quite wrong," corrected Omen. "We cannot afford to underestimate Loren Jupiter. The man has been manipulating the Teen Titans since they were first formed—in fact, their entire reason for _existing_ was simply to fill his needs. Jupiter has pulled countless strings to raise and raise the show's ratings—all the while, he's been using these machines to steal and store the energy of his ever growing group of viewers."

Rolling his eyes, Roy interjected, "So, another power-hungry madman? As if the world didn't have enough of those…"

"His motives may be cliché, but with all the power amassed in this room, Jupiter is still quite dangerous." Omen gestured across the room towards all the computers lining the walls. "Of course, he can only use it as long as these machines stay in one piece…"

"Yeah yeah, we get it!" exclaimed Bart Allen as he took off. "We just gotta blow up these stupid computers!"

Smiling, Flamebird pulled some of her namesake weapons from her belt. "Impulse is right, guys! Let's tear this place apart!"

Becoming a white and red streak, Impulse was almost bouncing off the walls as he pulled apart consoles and shattered screens. Vibrating through one of the machines, he came out of the other side dragging the computer's insides behind him.

Whirling his newly upgraded Gabriel Horn in his hand, Mal puffed his lips and released a sound wave that nearly blew a hole through the wall. Behind him, his girlfriend sent shocking stinger blasts flying all around her.

Bette let loose with her Flamebirdarangs, tossing explosive and freezing ones left and right and watching them take their toll. Arsenal was showing a similar lack of restraint as he fired explosive arrows and his laser pistols.

Extending both of her arms to the side, Magenta released a potent magnetic blast that simply shredded the remaining machines. In less than thirty seconds, Mr. Jupiter's room had been completely demolished!

"Wow, who knew saving the world could be so easy?!" exclaimed Impulse, grinning madly.

"Unfortunately, the world is not saved yet," said Omen somberly. "We may have destroyed his machines, but Jupiter himself is still quite dangerous, and now he's targeting our friends.

"The Teen Titans need our help. Titans East, we're going to Alcatraz…"

*****ON THE AIR—INSIDE ALCATRAZ PRISON*****

The five Teen Titans rushed down a muted white corridor inside the former prison, following Raven's signal on Donna's Titan communicator, hoping to find their teammate.

"Do we really need that?" asked Beast Boy, his ears twitching. "I mean, I can hear 'em fighting from here! It sounds like a war zone!"

Koriand'r gasped. "I hope Raven is okay! It has been an awfully long time for them to still be fighting!"

"Wouldn't've been _half_ as long if somebody had known how to run the boats back to shore!" griped Tara. "A whole prison full of hostages but somehow the sailors got away scott-free?!"

_Beast Boy: "If Vic'd been here he could have handled that easy! I don't wanna sound like a wuss here or anything, but I'm startin' to worry about the guy! I know he was laggin' behind to shut off his lab and bring the T-ship, but it's been a really long time since then!"_

"Enough complaining," grumbled Wonder Girl. "I think we're going to have enough to worry about already without adding that." Proving the adopted Amazon correct, a prison-cell door cloaked in black energy suddenly burst through the door and down the hallway, straight toward the superheroic entourage!

Acting purely on instinct, Starfire lashed out and immolated it with a Starbolt. "Well, I think we're there!" laughed Robin as he cracked his knuckles and dashed for the room.

Within the large chamber, once the main cellblock, chaos reigned. Most of the cells had been torn from the walls—as had much of the walls themselves—and the balcony that held much of its second floor was crumbling. Raven soared across the room, circling her opponent as her dark cloak flared wildly around her, possessing anything in the room she could possibly find to use as a weapon.

Her opponent had a similar strategy. On first glance he was far from intimidating: he looked to be in his late fifties or early sixties, and his thin, frail body was cloaked within a pink and black robe that was so oversized it looked like it was swallowing him. His pupil-less eyes were surrounded by dark rings, but what was most shocking about this figure was that the top half of his head seemed to be a clear dome—inside could be seen his brain, floating as if suspended in some sort of liquid!

He smiled a wry, wicked smile as the dome glowed bright pink, and fields of the same color appeared all throughout the block, taking telekinetic control of objects and mobilizing them against Raven in like.

"Holy f---ing s---!" exclaimed Dick as he skidded to a stop. "I can see his brain!"

"Pleasant," grumbled Wonder Girl, trying to hold down the nauseous feeling that was slowly developing in her gut. "I'd take a bad luck hex over that any day..."

"Look Psimon, my teammates are here," taunted Raven. "Do you really think you can win now, against all six of us?"

Pulling his staff from his belt, Robin decided to answer for him. "Hell _no_ he can't!"

_Wonder Girl: "I went into this team hoping that they would help me find my parents, find _myself._ I was hoping that we could do _anything._ And, of course, from the very start I was disappointed...yet, despite appearances, we accomplished more than I ever thought we could. But, at the same time...we let Terry die! So I don't know anymore what we can do and what we can't_..._I just hope Dick is right. I _want_ to think he is, especially since his flunkies were so easy to take down, but...there's something off here. I feel it in my stomach...something is wrong! I just wish I knew what!"_

"Ah, the Teen Titans." Psimon grinned. "You don't need to threaten me—I was _hoping_ I would get to battle with all of you. I think you'll find it...enlightening."

_Starfire: "Enlightening? He plans to teach us?"_

Taking steps backwards, Terra waited until she had put a good distance between her teammates and herself before screaming and sending her golden aura soaring. The floor cracked as jagged rocks broke through the concrete foundation and jutted in all directions. Massive stone pillars rose around her, soaring straight through the roof before coming to a stop. The earth finally ceased rumbling as the tiny terrakinetic took a breath, nearly collapsing—still, she was proud! This was a feat she could have never pulled off without complete control of her powers!

However, she just found herself greeted by annoyed looks from half her teammates. "What?!" she asked, shrugging. "I needed _something_ to fight with! It's not like this place wasn't trashed enough as it is!"

_Wonder Girl: "She has a point. Thank _Zeus_ we don't have to pay for the damage we cause!"_

Thrusting both of her fists to the side, several of the pillars shattered and filled the air with boulders of all sizes, ready to follow Tara's every command. "Well, what're we waiting for?! Let's light 'im up!" Throwing her arms forward, the rocks followed suit. Seeming to explode into action, they hurled towards Psimon like a meteor shower.

"You have the correct idea, Terra," complimented Raven as her cloak billowed, sending every object she had under her control into the storm of rock. "If we overwhelm him, perhaps he will be unable to maintain his control!"

"Well, _I'm_ all for it!" cried Gar as he leapt into the air, taking the form of a bald eagle as he stayed one step behind the destructive attacks of his two teammates—which was practically guaranteed to tear apart _any_ animal shape the boy could assume.

Psimon was even less durable, but he looked far less worried. In fact, his smile only grew as he levitated backwards. "Overwhelm me? Bah! A master of mentality cannot _be_ overwhelmed!"

Brainpower seemed to explode from his clear head, nearly vaporizing every scrap that Terra and Raven had sent his way. What survived was flawlessly redirected into Beast Boy's path, knocking him from the sky and nearly crushing him—until Starfire burst through the wreckage, the changeling in her arms!

_Beast Boy: "A master of mentality? Yeah right! My adopted Dad, Mento, _he_ was a master of mentality! Sure, he needed a helmet to do what this guy can do with his freaky dome-head, but he didn't attack anybody with those powers either—at least not anybody who didn't have it comin'!"_

"Thanks...Kory," mumbled Gar groggily, but she was already long gone, soaring like a rocket towards their brightly garbed opponent. She screamed as she fired a Starbolt, but it had barely left her palm before Psimon reversed its direction, and the green energy exploded on contact with its creator!

As she tumbled through the room, a grappling launcher sank into a nearby wall, propelling Dick Grayson into the air. He reached the end of his line and let go, somersaulting until he was nearly on top of his ex-girlfriend. "Hey Kory, think you can give me another boost?"

She nodded in agreement, and he landed perfectly with one foot in her hands. She sent him soaring, but Psimon simply shook his head. "Nuh-uh. You get close to me by invitation only!"

The Fearsome Fiver's telekinesis then promptly took control of Robin's cape and pulled him backwards, wrapping the garment around Koriand'r's head! Another field of pink energy pulled Dick's staff from his grip and, after spinning it in the air, brought it down hard into the Tamaranian's stomach. Both Titans fell straight to the ground.

"Well, that was disappointing," said Psimon with a sigh. Again his head lit up, and this time steel rods used in the prison's constructions were pulled from beneath the cement. "Looks like I'll just have to show you what _I_ can do instead!"

"And this time _I'll_ shut you down!" Donna Troy took to the sky, moving so fast she was only a blur. With her magic lasso in hand she effortlessly bound the erratically grouped rods, and with one punch she knocked them back where they came from!

Psimon chuckled. "Impressive, but ultimately, useless." The telekinetic let the rods get as close as he dared; as they came within a few feet of his body, the ends began to practically dissolve as he pulled them apart, scattering their shattered atoms to the wind. Growling, Wonder Girl shot into the air, but her opponent simply released a mental shockwave that sent the entire team tumbling across the floor.

However, even as her teammates were still reeling, Raven had a plan. Black exploded around her telekinetic rival as she attempted to do to him what she had done to Dr. Light—unleash her Soul Self directly into his mind!

"I should have done this as soon as the fight began!" exclaimed Raven, her already creepy voice only getting spookier as it emanated from within the pure black.

"Why?" asked Psimon, not losing his calm even for a second. "It would have been just as pointless then as it is now." The ground shook as neon light burst from all around the Fearsome Five's leader, shattering the Soul Self with its pure psionic force and sending its empathic owner flying.

"Raven!" cried Kory.

"S--- this guy's strong!" exclaimed Robin as he picked himself off the floor. "So, I guess the question is, what the hell's a guy like you doin' hanging out with those brain-dead a--holes we left outside?!"

_Wonder Girl: "I don't know if Dick realizes it or not, but he's onto something! Maybe _that's_ what feels so wrong to me! Psimon's too smart for this crime! He's too smart for his _cronies_!"_

"And why would somebody as strong as you try to take _Alcatraz_?!" demanded the Titans leader. "You _have_ to know trying to take over a government institution is pointless! They'd never let you keep it!"

"Yeah!" piped in Gar. "They'd sic the army or the Justice League on ya', and even _you_ can't take down those guys!" Pausing for a second as a depressing thought popped into his head, he added, "Well, I _guess _you can't..."

Behind him, Terra just swallowed a lump in her throat. "Don't give him any ideas, Gar..."

"You Titans have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to ask those questions," mused Psimon cryptically. Suddenly chuckling, though, he continued, "But that doesn't mean I'm ready to give you any answers...at least not yet. Now without some _sacrifice_..."

_Robin: "Hell, what is it with villains and sacrifice?! I thought they _liked_ to talk! Shouldn't he be ready to tell us his whole elaborate plan by now?!"_

Suddenly, though, all their thoughts were interrupted as part of the ceiling was shattered by an explosion. As debris rained to the floor a potent beam of focused sonic waves burst from the newly created hole and struck Psimon, knocking the villain to his knees, where he held his ears with a vice-like grip, trying—and failing—to keep out the ear-piercing noise.

Gar's face lit up. "Vic!"

Indeed, it was Victor Stone, the mechanical Titan known as Cyborg, who stepped through the hole. He leapt to the ground, tackling his incapacitated opponent and holding down his face with his free hand—all the while never letting up with his Sonic Cannon!

_Beast Boy: "Woah! That's Vic all right, but I dunno if I've _ever_ seen him so intense, even 'gainst Brother Blood!"_

"Why?!" roared Cyborg. "Why did you do this to us?! We trusted you and you did nothing but use us! Why?!"

Starfire couldn't understand what her friend was talking about—or why he was so enraged! "Vic! You are not making any sense!"

"And you're _way_ out of line!" added Donna. "Let him go!"

_Cyborg: "I'm out of line?! I don't even know anymore! I'd never normally go off on somebody like this, but they don't know what he's done to us! Normally I'd agree with Donna, but...damn, not with this guy!"_

"You don't know what he's done..." growled the half-man, half-machine. Shaking his captive, he demanded, "Show them! Stop this act and show them who you really are! Then they'll understand!"

"Fine," groaned Psimon weakly. Vic finally shut down his Sonic Cannon, and the dome on his telekinetic captive glowed dimly. "Titans, Psimon is...simply an act. The name, the appearance...he does not exist. You only see me because I manipulated your minds..._made_ you see me as Psimon...but who I really am...well..."

Chuckling to himself, he let his mental suggestions go, and the Titans' sight blurred for a second as they finally saw 'Psimon' for who he really was—though they still didn't believe their eyes! It didn't make any sense!

"Great Hera!"

"No way! I never would've thought he had it in 'im!"

"Holy f---ing s---!"

The Titans had good reason to be surprised: because Psimon was actually their manager, Mr. Loren Jupiter!

"Surprised, my Titans?"

Garfield Logan could only stammer. "M-Mr. Jupiter's a telepath?!"

"A telepath who took a federal monument hostage and attacked his own team!" added a livid Donna.

_Wonder Girl: "To believe I used to kiss up to him! I wish I had known this then!"_

"He's done a lot worse than that," said Cyborg in a solemn, gravely tone. "Jupiter's been manipulatin' us from the start! He hired Dr. Light and Deathstroke! He made us and the Justice League fight, and then erased the evidence from our minds! And when I got too close to the truth, he blew up my lab, with me still in it!"

"You make that sound so _bad!_" drolly stated Jupiter, still held in the metal-man's grip.

_Cyborg: "Damn that pompous jackass! I was hopin' he'd at least be pissed I was able to survive his little trap usin' my energy shield to protect myself from the explosion, but he don't care! He's just as smarmy as ever!"_

"Oh, and Cyborg?" The mechanical Titan just glared at his captive. "Never touch me again." Jupiter's eyes suddenly lit up purple and sent Vic soaring with a psionic shock; as he tumbled off the balcony to the floor a story below, the malicious manager slowly got to his feet and wiped dirt off of his plaid suit-coat.

Tara was quick to take action, rustling up a small dust-storm that slowed her teammate's descent and no doubt saved him some unwanted pain. "You okay?" she asked.

"I guess," grumbled Victor. "I'm a little dirty, and very, _very_ pissed, so if you call that okay, then I guess I am."

"Come now Cyborg, don't hold a grudge." Mr. Jupiter still stood on what little remained of the crumbling balcony above the rest of the block, looking down on the team he had manipulated like puppets for months now. "I mean, sure you weren't smart enough to figure me out before it was too late, but don't worry, nobody _could have!_"

_Wonder Girl: "Hera, he's more arrogant than Dick!"_

_Robin: "S---, this guy's so full of himself it ain't funny! And there are a lot of loudmouths who ain't got _nothin'_ to back it up, but I think he's more like _me:_ he's got a reason to be arrogant!"_

_Starfire: "I do not understand this! Sure Mr. Jupiter has always been a little...odd, but I always thought he had our best interests at heart!"_

"Mr. Jupiter, say this is not so!" pleaded Koriand'r. "You gathered us together and helped us combat evil! You helped me find a new home after escaping the Gordanian forces! Please, I do not understand how you could be evil!"

Loren just chuckled, however. "Poor naive Starfire...you'll trust _anybody_, won't you? Did you ever even wonder how I _found_ you after you...'escaped' the Gordanians?" The arrogant man accented the word escaped by making air quotes with his fingers. "After they rebelled against your sister, the Gordanians _sold_ you to me. I _bought_ you from them so I could use you in the show!"  
Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran was stunned, tears trickling down her cheeks as she stood in silence, desperately trying to comprehend what she was hearing.

"But..._why?!" _was the only response the heartbroken Tamaranian could find. "Why would you do this to us?!"

"Why, as I'm sure your _smarter_ teammates have figured out already, it's simply because I have much to gain by manipulating your actions, using you as my puppets. Your actions may have saved lives and stopped criminals, but no matter what, on some level, they were simply serving _my_ agenda!"

"But what?!" This time it was Donna who took charge. "What could you possibly gain by manipulating us like this? _Higher ratings?!"_

_"_And what about me?!" yelled Terra. "Why did you bring me here? Did you just need somebody to fill in the numbers, or do you have some twisted fate in mind for me, too?!"

Again Jupiter simply chuckled, amused by how close his pawns actually were. "As I already said, I'll give you some answers, but it will require some...sacrifice."

Not satisfied with those answers, the Titans prepared to _beat_ some answers out of their boss, but suddenly they stopped, frozen by the echoing sounds of a million voices screaming in their heads.

_'You will not attack me! You will stand still! You will follow only my commands, move only when I want you to, do only what I tell you to!'_

And as the Teen Titans grew limp, their minds desperately and vainly fighting to regain control of their body, their director stood far above them, telepathically putting commands into their very brains, and all the while taking exquisite pleasure in the whole ordeal.

_Wonder Girl: "I felt helpless, just like when Jericho took control of me! Actually, this may have even been worse, because while Jericho simply controlled my body, I can actually hear Jupiter putting every thought into my head! I can hear his sick mind making me do everything he wants!"_

"So, you want answers...I'll give you an answer, but...for the price of one of your lives!"

The Titans eyes shot open wide in shock, but even as her mind protested, Wonder Girl was forced to grab her lasso. "So, who should it be?" asked Jupiter cruelly as lightning shot from his tool's mystical lariat. "Shall I have Donna fry Cyborg's circuits?"

Suddenly he made Kory spin, a Starbolt sizzling in her palm, pointed towards Robin! "Or perhaps Starfire should incinerate her ex-boyfriend! After all, I can see she still loves him, despite everything he's done to her!"

_Robin: "That's good to know, but I sure wish I coulda found out when I _wasn't_ about to be killed! Then again, that seems to be the only f---ing way I find out anything anymore, heh."_

No matter how much she strained, Tara couldn't restrain her power as her beautiful golden aura built around her. "Or maybe Terra should crush her little crush Beast Boy!"

_Beast Boy: "Definitely _not_ the kinda attention I'm lookin' for!"_

Jupiter was giggling like a schoolgirl. "Oh, this is _too good!_ I don't know who I should kill first!"

_'How about nobody, you sick freak?!'_

Everybody in the room froze as the new, mysterious voice sounded in their head. Suddenly the air in front of the Titans started to shimmer and warp, and a few seconds later a new player had entered the field—a mysterious figure hidden beneath a massively oversized crimson and black hooded cloak!

"And who are you supposed to be?" asked Jupiter, annoyed at the intrusion and the interruption of his game.

"I am Omen," said the disguised savior, its voice indistinguishable, "A harbinger of doom: namely _yours_, Loren Jupiter! For today, your plans are thwarted!"

_'You are free, Teen Titans! Regain control! Jupiter will no longer manipulate you!'_

The six Titans all jerked, once again in control of their bodies thanks to Omen's telepathic powers.

_Beast Boy: "Finally, a telepath on _our_ side!"_

"As long as I am here, I will make sure you can't control the Titans anymore!" exclaimed Omen. "And I have done more than that to spoil your plans!"

The sound of a horn blew as a wormhole opened behind the harbinger, and the six remaining members of Titans East stepped through.

"Terra!" Flamebird's eyes shot open wide, and the enthusiastic heiress rushed her former teammate, hugging her as tightly as Starfire would have! "It's so great to see you! I thought you were still in Zandia!"

"Just got back, actually," replied the earth-mover with a smile. "It's kinda a long story. I guess it's the same for how you got hooked up with the living parka over there?"

"It's not _that_ complicated," laughed Bette Kane. "Omen recruited us to save the world!"

_Robin: "What?! _Flamebird_ saving the world?! I hope this Omen knows what he's f---ing doing!"_

"Indeed, the Titans East have been most helpful!" announced Omen. "They have destroyed your energy collecting machines, making everything you've been working towards completely worthless! You're defeated, Jupiter!"

Donna Troy just looked confused. "Energy collecting machines? That doesn't make any sense..."

"Sure don't, but we definitely destroyed some of them anyway!" exclaimed Roy Harper from behind the adopted Amazon. Just now noticing the archer, she only chuckled nervously.

_Wonder Girl: "Great, _Roy's _here. Now this is life-threatening _and_ awkward!"_

Mr. Jupiter, however, didn't seem threatened in the slightest. "Well now, if I'm defeated, I at least deserve to see who defeated me, right?!" Not waiting for an answer, he took telekinetic control of Omen's cloak and ripped it to shreds!

Beneath the cloak was a young woman in a red and black sweater and miniskirt, with black high heels. She had long red hair and earrings in the shape of peace signs. While Loren Jupiter knew _exactly_ who she was—and, truthfully, had before he even removed her disguise—most of the Titans weren't quite as in the know. In fact, she only looked familiar to two.

"Wait a second," said Donna as she strained to remember where she recognized this girl from, "Aren't you Mr. Jupiter's secretary?!"

"She sure is!" exclaimed Terra, not waiting for an answer as her powers instinctively leapt to life. The ground beneath them shook. "So, does that mean you're working _with_ him?! Trying to trick us?!"

Lilith Clay was knocked off her feet as the floor quaked. "No, I swear! All I've ever wanted is to stop Jupiter!"

"She's right, you know," nonchalantly added Jupiter. "Of course, assisting me as my secretary all this time probably wasn't a very good way to do it."

"I had to get close to you and earn your trust, figure exactly what was up with you!" exclaimed Lilith, defending herself.

"This don't make no sense," sighed Vic. "How did you know he was up to anything at all then?!"

_Cyborg: "Seriously, this whole thing just keeps making less and _less_ sense!"_

"Because I saw it," said Lilith mysteriously. "Just two years ago I was a normal girl, but then I started hearing people's thoughts. It freaked me out even more as I started getting whole glimpses of their minds, and when I realized that I could put thoughts _into_ their heads too!

"But the worst was the _premonitions..._I started to see glimpses of the future, omens of things to come. One of them was of my parents telling me that I was adopted, and that my abilities likely came from my birth parents, so I left home on a search for them.

"All the clues led me to a man named Loren Jupiter, who it seemed might be my father. To get close to him, I interviewed for the position of his secretary. But there was something off about him—and I don't just mean the clothes. His mind was...nothing but static! I couldn't read his thoughts!

"That's when I saw it...he triggered one of my premonitions! I saw a future that was dark and bleak, with blood red skies and a lifeless planet...and it was all Jupiter's fault!

"So when I got the job I decided to take it, to stick close to Jupiter and figure out just what he was up to, so I could stop it! Titans, he's been manipulating you from the start so that he could tell the most entertaining story possible, so that he could drum up ratings and reach larger and larger audiences!

"Once his audience peaked, he was going to use his energy collecting machines to steal all their strength and use it for himself!"

_Beast Boy: "Woah, and they call some of _my _stories far-fetched!"_

Jupiter slowly clapped his hands. "Bravo, Ms. Clay. Very compelling. Still, you didn't take something very important into account when you made your plan."

That shook Lilith, but she tried to put on a brave face as she asked, "And what would that be?"

"You said you knew something was wrong because you couldn't read my mind, but my dear Ms. Clay, I couldn't read _your_ mind either! I knew all along that you were trying to stop me, though I didn't know exactly _how_—nice touch bringing Titans East in, by the way, even if it was a tad desperate."

Robin couldn't hold in his laughter at that, despite the dire situation and Flamebird's resentful reaction.

Lilith, however, fought back. "So?! It didn't do you a lot of good if you still told me your secrets—heck, you never should have hired me in the first place!"

"Why Ms. Clay, what kind of fool do you take me for?!" Jupiter nearly cracked up. "I hired you because you were honestly the best candidate—besides, you knew many of my secrets, but I never told you _everything!_ And as for those "energy collecting machines", they were _never_ real! The computers your team destroyed were never anything more than elaborate decoys to make sure you didn't catch onto my _real_ secrets!"

The two teams of Titans were crestfallen, especially Lilith. "Wow, even _I_ feel dumb now," sighed Impulse.

Before they could figure out what to do next, though, the room suddenly started to shake, and red lightning shot from Mr. Jupiter's body. A vortex of crimson formed between his hands as a fearsome looking cowl emerged, coming to rest in his palms.

_Cyborg: "Dammit! This situation is bad enough without _that_ thing showin' up again!"_

"Uh-oh, team...this might get really, really bad," stammered Wonder Girl as she started taking steps backwards.

"Why?" asked Terra, who along with half of Titans East, had no idea what Jupiter's new weapon was. "What's so dangerous about _that_ thing?"

"What _isn't_ dangerous about that thing?!" scoffed Robin. "It nearly killed us a while back!"

"It's the Brother Blood cowl," explained Vic Stone, "And it's probably the most dangerous weapon on Earth!"

Jupiter's grin couldn't have been bigger as he slipped the weapon onto his head. Immediately he was immersed in crimson energy, and as he emerged, he was wearing robes identical to the ones he wore as "Psimon", except these were red instead of pink!

_Beast Boy: "Okay, _some_ improvement in the costume there, but not much! He needs to spend less time harassing us and more time reading some magazines!"_

"Indeed Cyborg, this cowl is the key to everything. Ms. Clay was correct that I wanted to drive up ratings and gain more and more devoted fans, but all along I was planning on using the Brother Blood cowl to collect their fannish loyalty and devotion and turn it into my very own power!

"You see, I've been trying to make it big in this business for years. I was brilliant, but jealous producers and directors kept shooting down my scripts, never giving me a chance to take the place in the spotlight I so deserved! I never gave up, but it was only draining more and more of my spirit...

"And that's when I discovered my psionic power! I could have used it to make those damned envious fools give me whatever I pleased, but I wanted to prove a point to them! So I came up with the idea of this show, and used my powers to get it on the air, to manipulate events so that reality was as interesting as fiction!

"And look at it! Am I a brilliant writer, or what?! We're the top rated show on MTV! We've been syndicated to too many stations to count! Our ratings are at an all time high!

"And that's all I've been waiting for. Today we're airing a _'Real World: Titans Tower'_ marathon, all leading up to the brand new episodes chronicling your newest escapades with our friend Deathstroke—which should be airing as we speak! Viewership will never be higher! So I'll seize the opportunity and finally make their power mine! I'll have enough strength to do anything I please!

"Of course, as my power has grown, I've realized that having this strength is nothing without somebody to show off to...so I hired the Fearsome Five, created the identity of Psimon, attacked Alcatraz and lured you here, my Titans, all just so I could tell you the truth and crush your spirits in person!"

_Cyborg: "Damn, Raven was right about that cowl! I don't think either Sebastian _or_ Jupiter used to be that bad, but gettin' all that power twisted their minds! They feel so entitled they don't have no guilt anymore!"_

The two teams of Titans didn't know what to say. Jupiter's words scared them, weighed down on them like a million pounds.

"So...I haven't done _anything_?!" Lilith was crushed. "I helped him all this time and couldn't do anything to stop him?!"

"Do not be hard on yourself, Lilith," said Koriand'r, putting her hand on the telepath's shoulder. "We were all fooled by him! He has done many terrible things, but we shall let him do no more! We will stop him!"

_Starfire: "I have never been more sure of anything in my life than I am of that!"_

"And how're we supposed to do that?!" cried Gar Logan. "I know it's kinda hard to remember with all the costume changes, but this is the same guy that was just kicking our butts _bad_ a few minutes ago!"

"It's doesn't matter!" cried Robin, directing all eyes towards him. "There's fourteen of us an' only one of him! We're gonna take him down, an' we'll kick his ass so hard he'll _never_ think about messin' with any of us again!"

_Robin: "That's the only way you can deal with guys like him: fight confidence with confidence! I can do so much s--- 'cause I always believe that I can do anything, an' it's not gonna be any different this time!"_

The acrobat's charisma actually seemed to be energizing his teammates.

_Starfire: "Dick just keeps on amazing me today! I would follow him into battle anytime!"_

_Wonder Girl: "I can't believe I'm saying this...but Dick made me believe him there. I don't know if I've just never noticed it before, or if he's only getting a handle on it, but Dick has the spirit of a real leader!"_

_Cyborg: "Just what I wanted to hear! Jupiter needs to go down hard!"_

"Fourteen?" Suddenly, though, their figurative balloon was busted as Jupiter again spoke, his eyes lighting up purple beneath his fearsome cowl. "You've overestimated yourselves there, Robin—as you so often do. You see—and here's my second great secret, if you're keeping track—I knew that if Lilith showed up to interfere with my grand revelation, she would try to keep me out of all of my Titans minds! Therefore, I created a weapon that I _couldn't_ be kept out of!"

Suddenly the floor again rumbled, and Terra shot into the air, riding atop a jagged boulder. Her rock columns began to crumble and float beside her.

"Tara?" Gar swallowed a lump as he noticed that his love's eyes were now glowing purple, just like Jupiter's! "What did you do to her?!"

_Beast Boy: "I swear, if he hurts her I don't know if I'll be able to hold myself together! I can't lose her!"_

"I'm controlling her just like I was controlling all of you, of course," replied the devious director, though he quickly corrected himself. "Actually, it is _slightly _different. When I realized Lilith could block my telepathic control of all of you, I ferried Terra over from Zandia, telling her that I planned to help her learn to control her wild powers. Of course, I did give her control, but I also secretly planted telepathic overrides into her mind. Without her even knowing it, she became my mole within the team, ready to be turned into my willing and able tool whenever I may need her services!"

The words could barely even escape his mouth before Starfire was in the air, seething. "That is the final straw! I will not let you use our friends this way! You have proven to be a horrible person in every way, and even if it means I am exiled from this world I have come to love, I will kill you!"

_Starfire: "I most certainly meant both things I said! I have come to love Earth and the people on it just as much as my home on Tamaran, but I would give that up to see Jupiter brought to justice! He does not deserve to live after ruining so many lives! He has played with all our minds, is using Tara like a puppet, he is even responsible for the death of Terry! Even more than Deathstroke, Mr. Jupiter does not deserve to live!"_

However, before she could carry out her threat, she was knocked out of the sky by the very girl she was defending. With her full potential at the control of the vicious Loren Jupiter, the entire room had become a whirling duststorm full of flying rocks.

"Oh," quickly exclaimed Jupiter, like he had forgotten, "And just to make this a little more interesting..." Suddenly two large doors beneath him glew purple and popped open, and a crowd of over a hundred armed soldiers, all also under Jupiter's telepathic control, marched through, guns aimed for the two teams of Teen Titans.

"Great!" exclaimed Flamebird, "Is there any way this could get worse?!"

_Robin: "S---, you're never supposed to ask that! Something worse'll always happen next!"_

"Well now, you seem to have this all planned out, Jupiter...the problem is, they are not_ our_ plans." Indeed, just as Dick had said, something worse happened. Raven suddenly appeared behind Jupiter, darkness flaring around her like a black fire. "Should we consider this a mutiny?"

"Ah, Raven!" Jupiter still just smiled away. "I was hoping you'd step forward and reveal yourself! This, Ms. Clay, is my third and final secret from you!"

"You're controlling Raven too?!" Wonder Girl couldn't believe it. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

_Wonder Girl: "Terra's powerful _enough_, but if he has full control of Raven, then that's it—there's no winning! _Maybe_ Wally could have beaten her if he was still a phantom, but with him gone every chance we had of competing with somebody as powerful as Raven is gone too!"_

"Wonder Girl, you know better," chastised the dark empath. "Nobody controls me. Mr. Jupiter has been working _for __me_. Despite how brilliant he truly believes he is, he could never have come up with the idea of using the Cowl of Blood, nor with the way to find it, without my guidance. Our goals have always been mutual...until now, it seems."

Shrugging, Jupiter just laughed and said, "Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag! Don't get me wrong, while I'm _certainly_ grateful for the psionic powers you and your father granted me, you simply weren't offering me enough incentive to stay with the program! I don't just want to rule over one world, I want it _all!_ If I keep this cowl for myself my power will be unlimited!

"And, if you think you can stop me, just remember that your dark powers are useless against this cowl's power!"

Raven wasn't impressed. "I am not so weak so as to be stopped by such a simple disadvantage," she said in a threatening tone. "And as for the offer we made you, it was a lie. Once Trigon makes this world into his own dark image, there will be nothing _left_ to rule. All along your cooperation only ensured a quick, painless death, but now, your mutiny has earned you the most _painful_ demise possible. Hand over the cowl."

Jupiter acted as if he was considering her offer for a second, and then just slyly smiled as he shook his head. "Considering you've promised me death, I think I'll take my chances and keep it for myself."

"Fine." Suddenly the dark veil that had always enshrouded Raven seemed to explode as it burst around her. Beneath it, it could be seen that her cloak was actually dark blue, not black, and all this time it had simply been hidden by her Soul Self! Now Raven's true appearance was revealed, and it shocked her teammates. She had skin so pale it was almost gray. Long, jet black hair fell behind her head. In the center of her forehead was a red jewel, a chakra, used in meditation. However, her most prominent—and most frightening—feature was her four red eyes, each glaring at Jupiter with an expression full of hatred.

_Wonder Girl: "So all this time Raven has just been hiding inside her own power?! We never really knew her at all! I can't believe we trusted her!"_

_Cyborg: "It must've taken her a lot of energy to constantly be usin' her Soul Self like a disguise all that time, 'cause as soon as she stopped her vitals and energy readings _skyrocketed_! Great, she's even more powerful now!"_

"Raven?!" Starfire called to her friend, her voice full of confusion and frustration. The dark empath, however, paid the alien no mind. Jupiter moved only slightly, just enough to reposition Terra between the Titans and the two former allies.

"Great!" growled Beast Boy, "She really did go to the dark side!"

Stamping her foot, Koriand'r retaliated, "No! I refuse to believe it! Jupiter did something to her, just like he did to Terra!"

"I wish I could say I was with ya, Starry," said Cyborg, "But something's been fishy with that girl for a while now. Maybe Raven really did betray us! Maybe she was never on our side to begin with! I think Wally was right about her all along..."

That caught the attention of Magenta, Frances Kane. "Where _is_ Wally anyway?"

However, her question went unanswered, barely even _heard_ with so much commotion already under way. Before Kory could even move to defend her friend, Lilith Clay stepped between her and Vic. "We don't have time to argue, not with Jupiter so close to achieving his goal! We can sort this out later!"

_Starfire: "At least _that_ I can agree with! I still do not think Raven could be capable of what she said, but now the best way to find out is to stop Jupiter and ask her ourselves!"_

'Right, so first we have to save Tara!" declared Gar, readying himself for action. "We can't hurt her—this isn't her fault!"

_Beast Boy: "We need to get past her to stop Jupiter and _save_ her, but there's no way I'm lettin' her get hurt while we do it! Jupiter and plenty of other jerks've all done that to her enough already!"_

"Agreed!" echoed Victor Stone. "'Sides, we have to get to Jupiter as fast as possible! The guy was already monstrously strong _before_ he got the cowl! Now, he'll make the other Brother Blood look like nothin'!"

"And then, even if we _can_ do all that, we still have to make sure our most powerful teammate hasn't decided to betray us and destroy the world!" added Wonder Girl.

Looking all around her, Flamebird chimed in, "And don't forget all these soldiers! Good thing Titans East is here to lend a hand!"

"So," asked Donna playfully, almost like she was issuing a challenge, as she turned towards Dick, "You still think we can take him?"

_Robin: "Truthfully? I had no idea. We'd never faced anything like this before. But that's why I couldn't say that! After all that time I wasted bein' all dark an' s---, I had to think we could do it! It's the only way we _can!_"_

"F--- yeah!" exclaimed Dick Grayson, never even letting that moment of doubt show. "Let's do this!"

Next time: The Moment of Truth


	24. The Moment of Truth

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and are owned by DC Comics.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 24: The Moment of Truth**

**ROLE CALL:**

**THE TEEN TITANS—Teenage heroes and reality TV stars:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Pure-hearted alien powerhouse.

**Terra—**Tara Markov: Runaway and wanderer with control over the very Earth itself!

**TITANS EAST—Teenage heroes aiming for fame, fortune, and the honor of being a true Teen Titan!:**

**Omen—**Lilith Clay: Telepath and precognitive in search for her parents.

**Flamebird—**Bette Kane: Spoiled rich heiress, athlete, and Robin fangirl.

**Arsenal—**Roy Harper: Former bad-boy sidekick and current government agent and weapon master with perfect aim.

**Impulse—**Bart Allen: Hyperactive super speedster from the future with no understanding of danger.

**Bumblebee—**Karen Beecher: Cybernetic genius with an insect themed power suit.

**The Herald—**Malcolm Duncan: Ex-thug armed with a wormhole generating horn.

**Magenta—**Francis Kane: Timid girl possessing tremendous magnetic power but cursed by its bi-polar aftereffects.

**And we don't know exactly **_**what**_** side these guys are on:**

**Mr. Loren Jupiter:** Manipulative, power-hungry telepath in control of the Brother Blood cowl.

**Raven: **Cynical empath shrouded in mystery.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

*****ON THE AIR—INSIDE ALCATRAZ PRISON. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

_Wonder Girl: "So, we just had the worst day of our lives…what's a good way to follow it up? How about finding out our manager has been manipulating our team the entire time we've been together, all just so—"_

_Cyborg: "—He can get whatever the hell he wants—which in this case was to raise the ratings of our show so that he could use the Blood Cowl to absorb our fans' strength and make it his own! Damn, _nobody_ should have that weapon…it makes your hunger for power unstoppable, drains away all of your conscience! That's sure what it did to Jupiter, just ask his secretary—"_

_Robin: "—Lilith showed up, and somehow kept Jupiter outta our minds so we could actually fight back! G—damn she's a hottie—I sure do love redheads! Anyway, she brought Titans East with her, thinkin' she had solved all our problems, but turns out Jupiter kept just as many secrets from her as he did the rest of us! Turns out he—"_

_Beast Boy: "—Only brought Tara here to use her against us! When he 'helped' her gain full control of her powers, he did something to her head so he could take over her body whenever he wants! Now he's usin' the girl I love against us, usin' her just like the scientists and her family an' everybody else who's screwed up her life! On the other hand, Raven—"_

_Starfire: "—Would never have betrayed us! Jupiter must have done something to her like he has Tara! Those things Raven said, about working with Jupiter the entire time, about making our world a dark place, about killing Jupiter, they are not something she would do! Raven is my friend, and although she has made some mistakes, she is not evil! I will do—"_

_Beast Boy: "—Whatever it takes to get Tara outta there! She's been hurt enough, and, and…well, I just can't stand to lose her again! I don't think—"_

_Cyborg: "—Gar could take it, an' I don't think _I_ can stand to see the little guy hurt again either! We've gotta—"_

_Starfire: "—Rescue them both! After all, Tara and Raven are both our teammates, both our friends! If we are ever to stop Jupiter's evil we first must save them, we must—"_

_Wonder Girl: "—Figure out what in _Zeus's _name is going on with Raven! She's been working with us all this time, but how much do we really know about her?! She's done some terrible things, and I think Wally may have been right about her! Or maybe she's under mind control, maybe she has multiple personalities, or maybe she really is just evil, but regardless I can't let her hurt us anymore, hurt _me_ anymore, not after all we've just been through! I've—"_

_Robin: "—Got to hold it together, for all of us! Everybody's lookin' to me to have confidence! It's like Superman said, I can inspire 'em! If we're ever gonna win, I've gotta believe we can, and I've gotta make sure everybody else believes that too! I'll make sure they do! We can win this! That motherf---er Jupiter'll never know what hit 'im!" _

So, that's how the assembled group of twelve Teen Titans wound up in the decimated remains of Alcatraz Prison, surrounded by over 100 of Jupiter's armed soldiers, faced by their mind-washed teammate, and with the prospect of two even stronger enemies above on the balcony.

Jupiter peered from beneath the Cowl of Blood at the assemblage of teenagers below him. He certainly figured he had created enough of a distraction to keep them busy for quite some time, but with _Raven_ as his opponent, he had to take things a step further. It would take all of his attention to fight her—he had to save the Titans for afterwards!

So the malicious manager sent out a mental command, and Terra—without any other choice—followed it, raising her arms as a wall of rock similarly rose behind her, creating a barrier between the team of teens and the two combatants.

With them out of the way, it was time to turn his attention to his _true_ enemy. "Raven, I do hope you'll reconsider this battle." The color of his eyes shifted from purple to crimson as he tapped into the power of his cowl, placing mental pressure on his empathic opponent. "With the power at my disposal I can give you _anything you want_…"

It was a simple strategy, one used to great advantage by the previous Brother Blood: temptation, a one sided offer that, when taken up, would grant Raven's power to him, turning her into his slave with even less effort than it would take to use his telepathy. Unfortunately for him, the dark girl wasn't falling for it.

The pitch black wings of her Soul Self exploded around her, nullifying the cowl's influence effortlessly. "Do not think me so easily manipulated, Mr. Jupiter," she growled. "You would never give me what I desire…and that goal can be reached much more simply, just by taking the Cowl of Blood from you…"

"Fine then," shrugged Jupiter, not seeming too concerned as he took telekinetic control of debris scattered across the balcony and sent it flying towards Raven. "Truth be told, I'll have a lot more fun just killing you anyway!"

Raven replied in kind as darkness sprouted across the room and took possession of even more rubble. All the time she had been with the Titans Raven had constantly been hiding beneath the shadowy veil of her Soul Self, and now that she'd finally let the charade fall and revealed her true form, she was no longer burdened by the constant strain of holding her dark disguise together. Therefore, she attacked with unexpected speed, overwhelming her former partner's assault and nearly connecting with her projectiles.

Jupiter barely managed to dodge, levitating above them at the last second. As they flew into the wall behind them, the devious director thrusted out one arm, releasing a blast of pure psionic force. It barreled towards Raven like a bullet train, but she never lost her cool—the attack was simply swallowed up by her Soul Self.

Another portal opened behind Mr. Jupiter, and his psionic blast emerged from it, striking him in his own back before the telepath even knew what happened. As he fell on his face and skidded across the floor, Raven allowed herself an uncharacteristic chuckle.

"You'll regret that!" growled Jupiter as he took control of the dust around him, whipping it up into a frenzied storm. Before Raven could even try to calm it herself a blast of red tore through the clouds—again the empath tried to redirect the attack, but it actually shattered her Soul Self and struck her dead in the chest, sending her flying!

As the dust cleared Jupiter just stood with a smug smile on his face and crimson lightning crackling across his hand. "I told you this cowl would be your downfall," he gloated. "You can't stop its power, and as long as I'm wearing it, you can't manipulate my emotions or get into my head! All you've got left is your telekinesis, and I can do that just as well as you can!"

Raven frowned as she floated onto her feet. "As I told you before, I am not so weak as to be stopped by such a minor inconvenience." In a flash of black she disappeared, and only a moment later her Soul Self surfaced beneath her telepathic target, destroying the floor and sending it flying straight into the air like a geyser.

Emerging from the darkness, Raven sent the debris flying forward, following the path Jupiter had taken as he reeled from the attack he'd suffered. However, unleashing a flash of magenta, he stopped in his tracks and destroyed the empath's grip on the projectiles, instead taking full control of them himself.

"Well look at that," he said with a sly smile, "Even my telekinesis is stronger than yours! Tell me Raven, how do you plan on winning now?!"

A puddle of black formed beneath her as Raven disappeared into the floor, easily dodging her redirected attacks. "My plan to defeat you has been the same this entire time," she said with utmost confidence as she appeared across the room. "You are distracted, your mind focused both on myself and the Titans. You will let your guard down, and when you do, I shall make my move."

Rolling his eyes, believing it would never happen, Jupiter just scoffed. "_Right._"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the thick stone wall, a fight just as intense was raging. As soon as the barrier has been erected Jupiter's troops opened fire, unleashing uncountable waves of purple laser fire throughout the room. Fortunately, Cyborg reacted rapidly, throwing his arms to the side and erecting a giant dome-like energy shield around both teams.

"Whatever you guys're gonna do, better figure it out fast!" exclaimed the metal-man as he strained to hold the shield together. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up!"

_Cyborg: "I've never done a shield this big before, plus I spent a lot of energy protectin' myself from when Jupiter blew up my lab!"_

"How's there even any _debate_ on what we're gonna do?!" asked Gar incredulously. "We've gotta save Tara!"

"But how?" asked Bumblebee worriedly. "We can't get to Mr. Jupiter with that wall there, and my scanners show that it's ridiculously thick—we're not going to get through without some effort!"

As they talked, Lilith Clay used her telepathic abilities to scan Terra's mind—it didn't take long for her to find what she wanted. "We use Beast Boy!" exclaimed the former secretary. "He's the key! Terra's mind has nearly been overridden completely by Jupiter's consciousness, but I can still sense some of Tara's thoughts—they're weak, but they're there! The only ones breaking through are about Beast Boy—all she can think about is his safety!"

"Then I've gotta get to her!" exclaimed the green boy. "Maybe I can get through to her somehow, snap her outta it!"

_Beast Boy: "I can't believe all she can think about is me! I mean, that's really cool, but I wish she'd think about herself a little more too! I don't want her pullin' another stunt like what she did back in Zandia, even if that was a huge help!"_

"Heh, then all you flying guys should make sure Gar can get close enough to talk to Tara!" announced Robin as he unfurled his staff and span it in front of him. "The rest of us can take care of these stupid goons, no problem!"

Donna couldn't help but to smile. "Sounds like a plan to me!"

_Wonder Girl: "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Dick's really been impressing me today! He seems totally different from the, well, the dick he was with he first got here, and even from the mopey guy he's been lately! I don't know what got into him, but I'm glad it did!"_

"Then let's light these guys up!" exclaimed Victor Stone as he let up on his shield, using its energy as a weapon and sending it flying in all directions, toppling a couple of lines of soldiers. "Go!"

So Wonder Girl, Starfire, Beast Boy, Bumblebee and Magenta took to the sky, zooming between flying boulders that swirled around them. The girls launched attacks, doing everything they could to avert the deadly rocks with Starbolts, stinger blasts, magnetically controlled metallic objects, or just their bare fists—all the while Garfield lingered behind, staying aloft as a pterodactyl, just waiting for his chance to get close to Terra!

_Robin: "Hell, look at that! 'Sides Gar, it's only girls that can fly! That's not f---ing fair!"_

Still, the acrobatic wonder didn't let the injustice slow him down for even a second as he leapt into the air, somersaulting above the soldiers. They fired at him relentlessly, but he replied by simply spinning his staff, deflecting the laser shots with pinpoint accuracy and redirecting them back into the teeming crowd of disposable flunkies.

His feet never even hit the ground as he gracefully moved from opponent to opponent. He span, his legs spread, into a windmill kick that tagged two heads—immediately tucking and flipping upside down, he grabbed those same heads with his hands and slammed them together, using amazing upper-body strength to push himself back into the air.

Lashing out with his staff, he slammed one of the soldier's face into the ground and then used the momentum to vault himself yet again into the sky. This time he flew high, and at the apex of his leap he unleashed a handful of explosive and freezing disks that thinned the crowd even further. As they took their toll, however, Dick was distracted by the sight of Flamebird taking on the thugs as well! 

_Robin: "Well s---, I guess that's how you can tell I'm a different guy now—if I was still so f---ing focused on being the best, I'dve never've let her go in there alone! But you guys wanna know what was _really_ crazy?! Bette was actually pretty _good_!"_

Indeed, while the heiress didn't have the amazing ability to combat the entire crowd at once like Dick did, she was still putting on quite a show. She span, lashing out with a kick to a soldier's shin—as he grabbed it in pain, she pulled him close and landed a vicious uppercut to his jaw.

As that opponent fell to the ground, Flamebird couldn't help but to smile—behind her was another soldier, but she just jabbed her elbow backwards into his gut then swang her fist upwards into his face. As he reeled she noticed a mob forming around her, but never once did her smile waver. "Hey, it's too bad you guys don't have some sunglasses!"

A blinding burst of light flared from her goggles, and taking advantage of the crowd's momentary distraction, she hurled her former opponent into the group—immediately she followed this up with a handful of Flamebirdarangs. As they detonated she cart-wheeled forward, rolling one soldier over. Another threw a punch blindly, but she grabbed his arm and snapped the poor man's limb backwards, breaking the bone.

_Robin: "Holy f---ing s---, Bette's gotten _good_! I always knew she had power and speed, but she must've been trainin', cause she's got some killer moves to back that all up now! Hell, here I was tryin' to be anything _but_ her, and she's managed to make herself better an' still keep a smile on her face! She's sure got the right idea!"_

"Hey Bette!" called the acrobat as he somersaulted past Flamebird, attacking more of the foot-soldiers all the while. "Sweet moves! You're doin' awesome out there!"

She was stunned. "T—_Thanks!_" Bette had only gotten into the super-hero business at all to gain Dick's attention, and now, after he'd insulted her and nearly drove her out of the game, after she'd sworn she'd never feel anything for that asshole again, he'd paid her a compliment! It felt _wonderful_!

"Wow, he's still as gorgeous as ever…" she swooned.

Meanwhile, a white and red streak zoomed through the cell-block, snatching the guns and weapons from soldiers that, to him, were nothing but frozen statues. The figure's massive mane of hair billowed behind him as the wild-child from the future, Impulse, ran random zig-zag patterns until he had disarmed every enemy he could find, piling all their weapons in a stack that was almost as tall as the room.

"Yo, Herald!" called the speedster. "Get rid of these dumb things!"

"You got it, kid," smiled Mal Duncan as he span his horn and blew, opening a portal beneath the pile-o-guns that brought them to who knows where. Then, moving his fingers in a pattern that no doubt would have made a terrific solo were his horn a normal trumpet, he created two wormholes near the roof, one about ten feet above the other, and then started opening portals beneath random soldiers.

The grunts disappeared and reappeared in the first of the two wormholes. They fell into the second, then reappeared falling out of the first again—trapped within the loop until the Herald saw fit to let them go.

"Sweet!" exclaimed Impulse as he skidded to a stop next to his portal-creating friend. "It's like that painting where it shows somebody lookin' at the painting and then in the painting there's somebody else lookin' at it then inside _that_ there's somebody _else_ lookin' at it, an'…" Bart trailed off, suddenly feeling woozy, rocking back and forth. "An' it's makin' me dizzy…"

Arsenal, meanwhile, was surrounded. He could've kicked himself for letting the soldiers get so close! He fired wildly with a laser pistol in each hand, but for every thug he knocked out, it seemed like another one just popped up in his place. Fortunately, with as many weapons as he had, Roy was _never_ out of options.

Gritting his teeth, the ace-archer pointed both weapons towards the ground and gave them everything they had—the recoil propelled him into the air! The crossbow mounted on his wrist popped open and he fired an arrow attached to a steel cable into the far wall—it retracted, pulling him across the crowd and to a safer position!

By the time Roy landed his bow was already in hand, and half a dozen explosive arrows detonating right in the mob's path easily slowed them down. Then he looked to the sky and fired arrows high into the air—they exploded as nets and bolos fell. As they ensnared their targets he let loose with explosive arrows, glue arrows, boxing-glove arrows, even a few real arrows, aimed for non-vital spots.

Arsenal grinned smugly, having shut down nearly that entire mob so easily. Suddenly, though, he saw Wonder Girl above him. The adopted Amazon smashed through a boulder, but she didn't notice one soaring right towards her back! Without time to even warn her, Roy fired an explosive arrow and obliterated it.

Donna didn't even notice the rescue as she flew off, but Roy Harper was relieved anyway. Ever since he'd first met her as Speedy he'd crushed on that girl, and even if she chose some geeky intern over him, even if she'd only used his body as a rebound, he still cared about her. After seeing how vulnerable she was after Terry's death, maybe more _now_ than ever.

However, while Arsenal had gotten himself out of his jam rather easily, Lilith Clay was having a little more difficulty. As she fought off a soldier, what little self-defense she knew was put to good use. She took a punch to her gut like a pro, grabbing his arm and hurling her high-heeled foot into his crotch. As he howled in pain she struck his neck with a judo-chop and watched him fall.

Still, no matter how good of a weapon they were, it was hard to fight in high heels! Lilith had been using her telepathy to shield the Titans' minds from Jupiter's control, but with the situation so dire and Jupiter's focus on other goals, she figured she'd better take a chance and focus it on her new opponents instead, before it was too late!

_'All of you, stop, now! Freeze!'_

She smiled as the soldiers surrounding her stopped in their tracks.

_'Those of you who were under Jupiter's control are now free! I've erased these horrible memories from your mind—go home, call your parents and tell them you love them! Those of you who joined Jupiter of your own free will—shame on you! Go turn yourselves in, and if any of you try to do anything like this again, you're going to throw up until you're more dehydrated than astronaut food!'_

With blank expressions in their eyes, the soldiers all wandered off, doing no harm to anyone. Lilith couldn't help but be happy with herself—being a telepath was so cool!

"You punks're goin' down!" cried Cyborg as he stiff-armed a row of soldiers, knocking them flat on their back. At the same time he fired laser blasts from several different cannons on his body, knocking out close to a dozen soldiers at once. Those who managed to dodge were uprooted by his Sonic Cannon, blown off their feet by the intense waves of high-decibel sound.

_Cyborg: "These punks're nothin' but distractions, cannon fodder to keep us busy so we can't focus on Jupiter—so I'm not wastin' any time taking them down! We've got much more important fish to fry!"_

Those Titans in the air, though, faced far more than a distraction. Donna Troy span, lashing out with punches and kicks, constantly on her toes. Rocks of all sizes flew at her from every side, relentless in their assault.

_Wonder Girl: "Jupiter sure knew which ones of us to get on his side! Terra's powers at this level are nearly unstoppable! I can barely even get my bearings enough to try to think of a way to do more than defend myself!"_

Not even yet finished a roundhouse kick, the adopted Amazon saw two boulders approaching her from opposite sides. Just glaring, at the last second she dropped below them, lasso in hand—spinning its golden cords, she ensnared both stones, one on each end of the lasso, and again began spinning, using it as a makeshift, larger-than-life set of nun chucks!

_Wonder Girl: "Alright, maybe _now_ I'll have some room to think!"_

"This is amazing!" marveled Bumblebee to nobody in particular as she soared through the debris. When boulders got close to her she destroyed them with her suit's stinger-shots, but her curious mind was far more concerned with her former teammate. "I always knew Tara's powers would be off the chart with a little more control, but I never imagined something this _catastrophic_!"

Suddenly, though, her sensors blared, and she shrank just in time to slip between several colliding rocks. Though she was now the size of a bee itself, her stingers still packed the same punch, and she continued zapping down rocks.

Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran was following a similar strategy, lashing out with Starbolts from her eyes and both her hands. With her impeccable aim and ability to shoot her signature projectiles rapid-fire, the stones weren't even getting close to her, but still, the alien warrior just felt frustrated.

_Starfire: "I feel as if I am only wasting time! I could create a Starbolt that could break through this entire field of rocks, but at that strength it would end up killing Tara when it hit! I cannot do that to her, not to my friend, not to someone innocent! But at this point I do not know what I _can_ do!"_

The nearby green pterodactyl was just as concerned with the terrakinetic's safety. A massive boulder soared straight towards the airborne animal, but it somehow just span and took the form of am Ankylosaurous, shattering through the massive rocks with its spikes and barbed tail before resuming its former shape.

_Beast Boy: "Man, I'm next to useless up here! To attack anything I have to become some sorta animal that can't fly, and then, y'know, I can't fly! I just need somebody to clear me a path, but there's too much rock to get through!"_

That was certainly the problem Magenta was having. Hers was the power of magnetism, to control anything metallic, and fortunately for her, there was plenty of metal debris left lying throughout the cellblock by the initial tussle between Raven and "Psimon"—which, in hindsight, was likely a ruse from the start. Still, she could only find and locate it so fast, and after a while she started to lose speed, to lose _control_.

She pulled a cell door into the air, using it to intercept a boulder—all the while she dodged more attacks on her own, weaving her metallic costume, and her with it, through the obstacles to the best of her ability. She couldn't keep it up forever though, and soon she found herself surrounded by boulders from every side.

Then, Frances Kane snapped.

A magnetic pulse exploded from her body, filling her eyes with a purple power as everything with even a trace of metal was pulled into the air. Even the rocks stopped in their tracks, veiled with thick magenta auras that seemed to be overpowering even Terra's control over them, if just for the moment.

"So," smirked the Titan, her voice filled with a confidence that was quite unusual for the timid country-girl, "There's enough traces of iron and other metal ores inside these rocks that I can actually do something with 'em—_that's _good to know."

She thrusted her arms to the side as the rocks and her other projectiles began to spin, and as she pointed forward, the objects followed, spiraling until they'd made a small tunnel straight through the storm and to Terra.

Behind her, Beast Boy was thrilled to see that somebody finally figured out how to get him through, but his elation was quickly lost as a metal beam floated up behind Fran, twisting until it was pointed at its tip, like an arrow.

"Time to take you down!" cried Magenta—but before she could fire her weapon she was tackled to the ground by a green gorilla. They fell at least two stories, landing with a thud, and though her thick suit shielded the girl from most of the damage, she still felt it—she was hurt, _bad_.

"What's _wrong_ with you?!" cried Gar as he resumed his human form, shaking Fran and raising his fist, ready to strike. Tears were welled in the corner of his eyes. "We're not gonna hurt her!"

Suddenly, though, Wonder Girl hit the ground, and before he knew what'd happened she grabbed Gar's arm. "What are you _thinking?!_ I know you're stressed but you can't hurt your teammate!"

"Not-relative!" Flamebird came rushing to her teammate's side, cradling Frances's head and patting her lightly on the cheek, trying to rouse her. "Fran, wake up!"

Finally the girl opened her eyes and stuttered. "W-what happened to me?"

"You tried to kill Tara!" roared Garfield Logan as he pointed to the twisted girder she'd nearly impaled her former teammate upon. "What were you thinking?!"

_Beast Boy: "Tara doesn't deserve to be hurt, but I was startin' to think we'd _have_ to if we didn't get through soon…but _she_ might've _killed_ her! That's _way_ over the line!"_

"Oh no…" cried Fran, covering her mouth as she stared, shocked, at the weapon she'd created. "It was _Magenta…_I, I…I can't always control my powers. They've messed with my mind, created a second personality that takes over when the magnetism is too much for me…I can't control what she does, and she…she's not the nicest person…"

_Beast Boy: "Well no duh!"_

_Wonder Girl: "Great, with everything going on the _last_ thing we need is another teammate going rogue on us!"_

"Well don't worry, 'cause now you've got all our help too—no reason to lose control!" Suddenly the rest of the ground troops came marching forward, having finished disposing of Jupiter's goon squad. Arsenal strung several arrows and aimed towards Terra, waiting for a clear shot. "We'll finish this, no matter what they throw at us!"

Before they could do anything else, though, they were distracted by a nearly blinding flash of green. Only two Titans were left in the air, and Jupiter was taking advantage of it, directing half of the debris towards Starfire. Though she shot down practically a whole quarry that flew straight at her, another cluster of rocks came from behind, taking the Tamaranian by surprise and knocking her to the floor almost instantly.

"Kory!" Dick cried out and started to run towards the pile of rubble. He couldn't even see his former girlfriend, the girl he still loved, beneath the rocks—but before he could get there she arose, knocking the stones from atop her.

Koriand'r was bruised and dirty, and slightly disoriented, but she was fine. "Do not worry, my friends—I am unharmed, mostly. I am f—"

"Guys! A little help up here?!" And that's when the rest of the Titans realized that, now, Bumblebee was the only one left in the air—and the only one on the receiving end of Jupiter's wrath!

She'd grown to full size so her teammates could hear her cries, and she continued zapping away with the zig-zag stinger blasters on her wrists. She maneuvered with everything her mechanical wings had in them, but it wasn't enough, not for the power Terra had! Suddenly Bumblebee was surrounded by boulders from all sides, floating around her like a globe, just waiting to crush the Titans East-er!

"Karen!" Her boyfriend, the Herald, blew into his Gabriel Horn in a panic, just as the rocks contracted and crushed everything within their grasp. A hushed silence fell between the Titans as a wormhole opened next to Mal, and after an excruciating second that seemed more like hours, Karen fell through. She was a little battered, but Mal had saved her from the brunt of the damage.

Mal dashed forward and caught his love, who still hadn't quite regained her footing. "Mal…" smiled Karen, her love and gratitude shining through even her compound-eye goggles. "God I love you."

_Wonder Girl: "Finally, somebody saved somebody they loved! I'm glad to see it…just wish Terry and I could've turned out this way…"_

_Robin: "Is _that_ what I need to do to get Kory back? I still love her, I…feel about her just like they do, and Jupiter says she still loves me too—and hell, even if that guy's a f---ing liar, I still think he's right—so maybe that's what it's gonna take…I have to show her some way…"_

_Beast Boy: "I wish that could be Tara an' me…I need to save her like Herald saved Bumblebee! An', fortunately, they gave me an idea, a way to get to her—an' it's so simple, I don't know how none of us figured it out earlier!"_

Above the recovering group of Titans floated a single rock—atop it stood Terra, her golden aura still simmering around her, her eyes still purple, Jupiter still in control, gazing out them at his enemies gathered below her. His soldiers may have been out of the way, but now they were all in one place—maybe it would be even _easier_ to keep them out of the way now!

So suddenly the ground began shaking, trembling like it would in an earthquake! Jagged rocks shot through the floor, as did geysers of dust and stone. The Titans were scattered, disoriented and confused, and as boulders began circling above them so quickly they were almost a blur, they realized that they were also completely immobilized, confined to the ground!

Smashing through a rock and somersaulting past a jutting pillar, Wonder Girl dug her heel into the floor, making a stand. "I'm sorry Gar, but we've got to do something more drastic! Titans—"

"Donna, wait!" Gar was rushing towards Mal and Karen, persevering through the severe duststorm despite only being in his human form. "I still have a plan! Give me one more chance!"

_Wonder Girl: "I didn't know what he would do, and I was afraid that if he had some half-baked scheme he could put us _all_ in even more danger, but…he was trying to save the girl he loved. I just thought about Terry, and there was no way I could try to stop Gar…"_

"Herald, I need a portal, now!" The green boy was dashing right towards the ex-thug, giving it everything he got, and even if Mal didn't know what exactly was going on, his horn was pressed right to his lips anyway. "Get me to Tara!"

So as Robin and Flamebird somersaulted away from rocks spiking out of the ground, as Cyborg and Starfire blasted their way through the new obstacles, as Wonder Girl pulled Lilith from harm's path, Beast Boy dashed through the open wormhole—and emerged right in front of Terra!

Below him was a duststorm so thick he couldn't see through, but it wasn't much better at her level—Gar was nearly blown away by the spiraling winds! He only saved himself by taking the form of a squid, lashing out and grasping the rock Tara was standing on with his sticky tentacles. Reverting to his human form, he clawed with everything he had, just barely holding on.

Jupiter was just amused by Gar's efforts, though, and he had Terra smile as the winds picked up. The poor Titan could barely hold on as the rest of his body flapped in the wind behind him—but he paid it no mind anyway. His focus was on one thing, and nothing else could deter him.

"Tara!" Garfield Logan yelled with all his strength, all his soul. "Tara, I know you're in there, I know you can hear me! You've gotta break free, please!"

There was no recognition on the earth-mover's face—just more of Jupiter's arrogance.

_Beast Boy: "I've seen a lotta crappy stuff in my life, a lot of creepy stuff, weird, scary…but nothin' was as bad as seein' Tara like that. It's like, like she was just _dead inside_…"_

Still, he didn't give up. "Tara, it's _me_: Gar! I'm here to save you! I'm not gonna let him hurt you, but the only way I can do that is if you listen to me! You have control now! These are your powers! Maybe those scientists gave them to you, maybe Jupiter let you control them, but who cares?! Their yours, and only _you_ should control them!

"Tara please, you sacrificed everything for me back in Zandia, and I'm not gonna stop at anything less to save you! We need your help! We can't get to Jupiter unless you take control! If you break free, then you save the day!"

_Beast Boy: "All of it was true, and I was throwin' out everything I could think of to try to get through, but I s'pose that, all along, there was only one thing I ever needed to say…"_

"Tara, I can't lose you like this! I love you!"

The changeling had screamed with all his might, and nearly lost his grip on the stone—but as he started to slip, nearly sucked into the raging vortex whirling all around them, he heard a feeble voice that gave him the strength to hold on. "…Gar?"

"Tara?! That you in there?!"

_Beast Boy: "Dumb question—of _course_ it was! I could see it in her eyes—that's Tara!"_

The earth-mover was struggling with all her might, but even as she spoke, her body still controlled all the surrounding rock against her will. "Gar…I can't stop him…"

"Yes you can!" countered Beast Boy. "I know you can! I believe in you!"

Amazingly, Terra smiled. "I'm glad…somebody does…"

And much to both of their amazements, the storm started to die down. Terra screamed as rocks fell and dust settled—even the rock her and Gar were on slowly descended, finally touching down on the ground.

"See?! I knew you could do it! Tara, you're awesome!" Still, as Garfield got his grips and climbed to his feet, he realized it wasn't over—Terra was on her knees, struggling to overcome the purple aura surging around her.

_Beast Boy: "Why won't he just leave her alone?!"_

"No Gar, I'm not…I'm not…" Tears fell from Tara's eyes as she gritted her teeth. "I can't do anything right…I try, I've always tried so hard! I tried to be a hero, but my powers went out of control and I just hurt people! I tried to make up for it and things only got worse! I finally…I finally thought I did something right by taking the rap for you, but then Jupiter took me back, and now look what I've done…"

The green boy couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Don't say that! You haven't done anything! Jupiter has!"

"I have too!" she screamed. "You don't know how many people I've hurt! Accident or not, my powers've _killed_ people! Well, I'm not going to kill you too!"

Terra's golden aura spiked, her power finally breaking through. One of the boulders laying besides them floated into the air, shedding some of itself until it was a jagged triangle shape, like a dagger.

_Beast Boy: "I…I had an idea what she was doin'…but I didn't wanna believe it…I still _can't_…"_

"Tara, what's wrong with you?! You're finally free!"

"No, I'm not. I'll never be free." The frail girl slowly climbed to her feet, amazingly calm, almost peaceful despite everything going on. "Jupiter will always have his controllers in my head, as long as he's alive—and you won't kill him, I know you guys won't…and that's a good thing.

"Gar, you guys have been so good to me…you especially. I never thought I'd have somebody love me, or be able to love somebody again. I wish it could last forever, but I'm not going to stick around and be used again, I'm not going to let myself hurt anybody else!"

"Tara, I don't understand what you're saying!"

"Yes you do, Gar." Her body started to seize as Jupiter desperately tried to regain control, but with a newfound determination she'd never felt before, she broke through. Moving her hand, the jagged boulder turned and pointed towards her. "As long as I'm alive I'll be putting all of you in danger."

_Beast Boy: "God, no…not that…"_

"No, you can't!" Garfield dashed forward, but Tara only kicked up a small gust of dust, blowing him backwards.

"I have to, Gar. It's the only way to keep you safe." A tear leaked from her eye. "Please don't be sad, Gar. I'm not. You've made me happy…and going out saving your life…that makes me happy too.

"I love you, Gar."

And then the stone fell, its sharp edge striking Tara Markov and then the ground, impaling her right through the chest.

_"NO!"_ Garfield Logan fell to his knees, unable to comprehend what had happened.

_Beast Boy: "Why…why did she do that? Why did she _always_ do that?! She never thought about herself…it's almost like she wanted to die! Why didn't she think?! I don't care if she put me in danger, it'd be worth it to have her around…and now, I'll never get that chance…"_

Behind the changeling the rest of his teammates gathered, overwhelmed by the events of the last few minutes.

_Wonder Girl: "Hera…poor Gar. I know what he's going through…and I know what he must want to do to Jupiter! Well, I'll make sure he it happens!"_

_Starfire: "It does not make any sense! Why would _anybody_ take their own life?!"_

_Cyborg: "That's _it_. Jupiter's going _down!_"_

"Tara?" Suddenly Impulse dashed to the girl's side, circling her body in saddened confusion. "Guys, what's wrong? Why isn't she getting up? Did she run out of lives? Do we need more tokens or something?"

"Shut up, Impulse!" The speedster stopped in his tracks as Garfield Logan yelled at him, not even looking up from his knees. "She's not coming back! Life _isn't_ a video game! Here, dead means dead!"

Bart Allen had nothing to say in reply. Nobody really had time to digest what had happened, though, before the next event. Jupiter's telekinesis leapt to life, taking control of several more unopened entrances to the room. They flew open and through charged several more streams of soldiers.

"More distractions?" grumbled Robin. "S---, this guy don't know when to quit…"

"He's got some nerve," growled Vic Stone.

"Indeed," echoed Donna Troy. "There's no more time for mercy, guys! Take them down, fas—"

Before the adopted Amazon could even finish her sentence, they _were_ taken down. Impulse, filled with a rage he'd never before experienced, flew through the massive crowd, a white and red streak that pummeled each soldier into oblivion in the time it would take someone to _blink_. Not even stopping to admire his work, he skidded across the floor towards a pile of small rubble and started tossing them towards the wall Jupiter had erected between himself and the Titans—with his speed, the rocks hitting the stone slab sounded like machine-gun fire.

"What're you guys waiting for?!" cried Bart, not letting up for a second. "We hafta get through that wall!"

The Titans knew he was right. They wasted no time aiming their weapons, their power, towards the one remaining obstacle in their way. It didn't stand a _chance_.

_Beast Boy: "Man, at least when Donna lost Terry she had some time to stop an' try to deal with it…but I don't get that, do I? Instead, we still had Jupiter _and_ Raven to worry about…"_

"Yo, Vic!" Herald dashed to the mechanical man's side, his horn ready. Despite it all, Cyborg only gave him a quizzical look—last time they'd spoken, Mal pretty much hated Vic. "'Member that move we used to take down that racist punk Plasmus? Well Karen upgraded my horn, so just follow my lead an' we'll have that wall down lickety-split!"

_Cyborg: "Losing somebody has…interesting effects on people. Donna seems to almost have mellowed a bit, learned to trust us more…Impulse had a serious reality-check, and hell, Mal's actually talkin' to me! Still…it ain't worth the pain. Seeing everything we've all been through, I'd rather have all these guys' old faults back then have to see them go through this much s---!_

_"An' Gar…poor Gar…that kid's never done nothin' to deserve all the grief he's gotten."_

So stinger blasts, Starbolts, magnetic pulses, arrows and explosives all soared for the wall—instantly followed by a massive wave of sonic power from the combined efforts of Cyborg and the Herald. The rock shook and vibrated for a second before exploding, filling the room with debris—the first of which hadn't even hit the ground before a green dragon soared through the wreckage, his sights only on one target: Mr. Jupiter!

_Beast Boy: "I still don't know how I do that, how I can become crazy creatures like that…when I get that mad, when I lose it, it just happens…it hurts like crazy, but I didn't care…I just wanted to get Jupiter. I wanted to make him hurt! Heck…with Rouge I was just tryin' to protect Tara, but with Jupiter, I _really_ wanted to see him die!"_

Raven disappeared within her Soul Self as the sound waves continued, shattering the balcony on which her and Jupiter had been fighting. Jupiter tried to buffer himself from the sonic attack with a telekinetic shield, but this left him completely open to Beast Boy. Lashing out savagely with his long, scaly tail, he knocked the telepath to the floor.

Jupiter didn't even have time to think as Gar landed atop him, having taken the form of a Gordanian. His massive alien hands were clamped across the director's throat, his eyes filled with rage.

"Tara died because of _you_, you bastard! Tell me why I shouldn't do the same to you!"

"Because you are not a cold-blooded murderer, Beast Boy."

Suddenly the green boy felt himself swallowed up within the cold embrace of Raven's Soul Self. He reverted to human form as it knocked him across the room—yet, at the same time, he felt himself losing his anger, the rage just…_disappearing._

"Calm yourself, Beast Boy," commanded Raven as she manipulated Gar's emotions. "Terra sacrificed herself so you would _not_ have to murder Mr. Jupiter…I do not think you would want to go against her wishes."

_Beast Boy: "What I _wanted_ was to stay angry…I felt like I was letting Tara down if I didn't do something! But, man…Raven was right. If I just killed Jupiter, I _would've_ been letting her down. She never got over the guilt of killing people even by _accident_…no_ way_ she would've wanted me to kill somebody on _purpose_…_

_"Y'know, I dunno what I think about an afterlife. I mean, none of my families have really been religious or anything, but after everything I've seen as a superhero and 'specially with the Doom Patrol…I think there has to be _something_ out there. I hope there is. I hope Tara is finally someplace where she's happy…and I hope she's happy with me…"_

Mr. Loren Jupiter, meanwhile, saw this as the golden opportunity he'd been waiting for. Springing to his feet, he thrusted both his arms in opposite directions, unleashing two sparking blasts of crimson energy. Garfield barely managed to become a rhinoceros before it hit, but although the other blast had been directed towards Raven, she was nowhere to be found by the time the attack hit.

"I told you distraction would be your downfall."

He couldn't believe it. Raven was _fast_. He hadn't even sensed her behind him, yet, in the time it took him to fire upon Beast Boy, she had teleported there and pulled the Cowl of Blood right off his head! Jupiter lashed out with a blast of psionic power, but by then she was already across the room.

"Give that back!" cried Jupiter, anxiety building inside of him.

"No." Raven couldn't have been more blunt. "You are an arrogant man, selfish and full of misplaced egotism. You have already oppressed the Titans, and would only cause more suffering if you had control of all that power. I am here to punish the wicked, and it appears you are first on my list."

Magenta colored energy leapt to life in Jupiter's palms as he prepared to take back what had been stolen from him, but Raven wasn't done yet. "Your confidence throughout this entire debacle has amused me. You never doubted for one second that you would win, yet…look what has happened." The empath just glared as she thrusted her arm forward. "_Feel fear_."

Suddenly black exploded around Jupiter, the wings of Raven's Soul Self spreading out of his body as the purple glow in his eyes was replaced by darkness that looked as if it was seeping from his very soul. He screamed, his body wracking in agony, then he simply fell to the floor, dead as a doornail.

The frightened Titans had gathered around Raven, staring stunned at Jupiter's lifeless body. "What…what did you _do_ to him?" asked Donna.

"I made him finally feel fear," said the dark empath. "I released all his deepest nightmares, made him see images that frightened him so deeply that his heart could no longer take the strain."

_Wonder Girl: "What…what's wrong with her?! She's so casual, so calloused about murdering him in cold blood! Even if Jupiter deserved everything he got, still…there's just something not right about her!"_

_Starfire: "I can see how worried Donna looks, but…I do not think this makes Raven evil! It is as with everything else she does…definitely out of place, but she meant well! I cannot blame her for killing Jupiter, after all—I would have happily done the same if given the chance!"_

"Wait…so Jupiter's dead?" Gar's confusion quickly turned to anger. "If he's dead, then Tara died for nothing! She would have been safe after all!"

"Doubtful," replied Raven curtly. "Terra had a death wish, Beast Boy. Had I killed Jupiter before she killed herself, she would have just found some other way to make a noble sacrifice. Despite her cheerful façade she was _drowning_ in the guilt of the accidents she had caused. She was _desperate_ to find some way to atone for them…you could never have saved her, Beast Boy."

_Beast Boy: "No surprise there…I've never been able to save _anybody_ close to me…"_

Whether the statement was valid or not, not even Raven's only friend was happy with the way she was acting. "Please, Raven, friend…we have lost so much here, endured so much. Please, tell us what is going on!"

"At this point, I don't care!" From across the room Arsenal aimed his bow, releasing several explosive arrows right into the dark Titan's path. Without even batting an eyelash she redirected their flight—they landed right in front of Roy, sending him flying. Black then took control of Roy's suit, pulling his weapons and costume right off of him!

As he landed across the room, buck naked, Flamebird's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Wow! No wonder Donna couldn't keep her hands off Roy!"

_Wonder Girl: "…No comment."_

Bette wasn't immune either, however. Before she could even react Raven tore her utility belt off of her and flung it across the room. Her darkness did the same to Herald's horn, and then possessed Fran and Karen's costumes, holding them down so they would cause no trouble.

"Leave them alone!" roared Impulse as he dashed towards Raven, but she simply opened a portal with her Soul Self, teleporting him halfway across the world.

_'You will stop in your tracks,'_ thought Lilith, trying to project her thoughts into Raven's head, take control of the girl's actions. _'You will tell us everything we want to know, you will—'_ Suddenly, however, she screamed, psychic feedback roaring through her mind. She grabbed her head and collapsed, falling to her knees.

"Raven, stop it!" cried Starfire. "Leave them alone! I do not understand why you are doing this!"

"Doesn't matter at this point," growled Robin as he gripped his staff—behind him, Cyborg likewise readied his weapons. "Whatever's behind it, it's obvious the b--- ain't on our side!"

_Robin: "It's weird, but I never really thought about Raven much one way or another. She never really let any of us get to know her…yeah, I ain't got no problem believing she's evil."_

"I suppose you could say that," said Raven as her Soul Self enveloped her—and then each of the five Teen Titans. "All of you have gone though much sorrow because of my actions. You deserve answers to your questions before the world ends…"

And six explosions of black teleported the Teen Titans away.

*****OFF THE AIR*****

This left only Titans East still at Alcatraz. As they recovered from the attack, still reeling, Bette Kane noticed something through a hole that had been torn in the wall—Titans Island, in the distance, being overwhelmed by a black dome!

"She took them to Titans Island!" exclaimed Flamebird.

"I'm on it!" replied Impulse. Nobody had even realized he'd made it back, but instantly he was running across the water—only to collide with the wall of black! "It's no use!" cried the wild-child as he dashed back to his teammates. "I can't even vibrate through that thing! She _really_ doesn't want us there!"

Flamebird wasn't going to give up that easily, though. "Mal, what about your horn, can you open a portal?"

Retrieving his Gabriel Horn, the Herald tried to open a wormhole straight to the other team of Titans—however, sparks just flew from the instrument, sending a small jolt of electricity through Malcolm Duncan's body.

"That's not supposed to happen," marveled Bumblebee, the weapon's designer.

Meanwhile, Lilith Clay slowly climbed to her feet. "Guys, I…I think I might be able to get there."

Quickly Bette and Fran dashed to her side and helped her regain her bearings. "Are you okay?!"

"I'll be fine," dismissed the secretary. "I tried to get into Raven's head, but her mind, it's so dark, so cold…" She shuddered for a second, remembering the disconcerting feeling. "But, that said, I think I can get past her barrier. When I teleport…I don't actually _teleport_, per say, like you do, Mal. I have to focus on the mind of a particular person, and then I just pull myself to them, somehow. That's why I needed you to bring us to Jupiter's fake lab…

"Anyway, it's all really abstract and I've never really figured out how it works myself, but I think it will work. I think I can get to Titans Island!"

"But what do the rest of us do?"

Immediately Lilith replied, "Impulse, can you find the Flash?"

"Yeah!"

"Then get there as fast as you can! Tell him what happened, and make sure he contacts the Justice League! Roy, you—"

"Already on it." Indeed, Roy Harper had already managed to retrieve much of his costume, and a communicator was already to his ear. "I'm dialing up the DEO now, and the FBI's next on my list. None of them are going to be too happy about the end of the world."

Francis Kane swallowed a lump in her throat. "Omen…is this really the end of the world? Have you had any more of your premonitions?"

Lilith wanted to tell her the truth…but she couldn't crush their hopes. Her visions could still be changed—but they needed all the hope they could get to make it come true. So as she closed her eyes and focused on the minds of the Titans, as the air rippled around her and she felt herself starting to be pulled away, she instead just left her teammates with two words:

"Good luck."

*****INFANTINO HIGH SCHOOL—KEYSTONE CITY, KANSAS, USA*****

A red-headed teenager in jeans and a hockey jersey leaned against a set of bleachers, his arms crossed in annoyance. He was Wally West, formerly the Teen Titan known as Speed. He'd lost his powers and returned to his normal life, but much to his chagrin, he hadn't been as easily able to leave behind his newfound celebrity.

Indeed, while he'd returned to High School with much excitement, his first day back just reminded him why he had always hated school so much. Things finally reached a boiling point during sixth period, when he was confronted by a horse of a kid named Joe Polanski. Again Wally's temper had gotten the best of him, and now he was waiting for the inevitable fight.

_'God this is stupid,' _thought Wally with disgust as he waited for Joe to show. _'Y'know, I really don't hate the work or learning, but the kids here are just so dumb. This whole situation is just way too high school—I can't believe it, but I was actually better off with all the drama from the Titans! At least then there was a reason to get all worked up!'_

The former Titan was snapped out of his thoughts as Joe walked around the corner, the massive boy followed by a large crowd of students eager to see the two teens throw down.

"You ready to settle this?" asked Joe, the words coming out with a low rumble. He cracked his fingers and grinned cockily.

"C'mon, do we really need to fight?" Wally wasn't scared—more than anything, he was just annoyed by the whole situation. "I mean, I had this girl literally make me fall in love with her, but _I'm_ not picking fights over it anymore. You're really gonna let yourself get this upset over one guy calling you a dumbass?"

A punch landed in his gut, nearly sending the red-head onto his knees. "Guess so," he managed to remark as he gasped for breath. There wasn't much he could do but brace for impact as Joe wound up and leaned into another punch, but as he threw it, something strange happened…

Joe started moving slower and slower, until finally he was practically frozen in place, his fist still inches away from Wally's face. Staring at his rival, Wally slowly climbed to his feet and took a look around—the entire crowd had suffered the same fate!

Wally couldn't help to smile as he took advantage of the situation and repaid a sucker punch with a sucker punch, landing an uppercut with a sickening thud into Joe Polanski's stomach. Time snapped back to normal as the brute flew backwards, landing on his butt.

"What t'hell was that?!" cried the massive boy furiously as he quickly got back onto his feet.

"I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it's called a punch," taunted Wally with an uncharacteristic chuckle. He was surprised at how giddy he was feeling, but he couldn't deny it felt good to give this bully what he deserved.

Seething, Joe again charged. "Oh, you're gonna die for that one, West!"

But yet again time slowed down for Wally, and this time, feeling cockier, he ducked beneath the other's boy arm and delivered several punches, three, four, five in succession. As time snapped back to normal Joe was knocked into the air, spinning until he hit the bleachers.

The crowd of student onlookers went wild—but not in the way Wally expected.

"Hey, he said he didn't have his powers anymore! That's no fair!"

"Yeah, talk about a cheap fight!"

"Man, I'm tellin' the principal about this!"

That's when it finally snapped in Wally's head—time slowing down like that, it must have been super speed! But, there was only one way to know for sure—and with all the trouble he'd started, he certainly didn't want to stick around anyway.

So Wally West ran. In two seconds he'd broken the sound barrier, becoming faster than sound itself. Fear coursed through the boy's veins—he expected his body to dissolve away any second, to become a phantom, to become Speed once again! Yet, as he continued to run, something completely unexpected happened: he actually enjoyed it!

Wally's hair flapped behind him in the wind, his feet smacked against the pavement and the water, and no matter how fast he went, his body showed no signs of going away!

_'This is great!'_ he thought as he circled the globe for the fifth time in thirty seconds. _'I have super-speed, but I still have my body! I can handle that!'_

However, as he continued to pick up speed, as light started to bend around him, worries again crept up. _'But what if I just lose my body later?! What if I try to be a hero again and it doesn't work out?! I mean, I've hated going back to school, but it's only been a day…but _God_ do I hate it._

_'I know one thing: I'm tired of running. Whenever something's gone wrong in my life I've just run away from it, even now, that's all I'm doing! No, this time I need some answers. No matter what I decide to do, I'm thinking it through this time._

_'And I think I know just the place to find out everything I need…'_

So he ran even faster and faster, surpassing even the speed of light. The phenomenon of swirling colors and sights was nearly indescribable—as he approached terminal velocity, even the time-stream itself began to bend around him! Then though, something even more fantastic happened—lightning struck. Thunder boomed.

Wally West entered the Speed Force.

*****ON THE AIR—TITANS ISLAND*****

In the middle of San Francisco bay sat a small island. Once it had been tiny, insignificant, until a tower in the shape of a giant 'T' was erected. Since then it had been the home and base of operations for the Teen Titans, making it a hotbed of action and drama.

Today, it was the stage for the beginning of the end of the world…

Five small bursts of black shot from the island's sandy shore, and as the remaining Teen Titans emerged from the dust, still shuddering from the chilling insides of Raven's Soul Self, the dark empath herself appeared, her inky power shooting from right before the tower into the sky, erecting a dome around the isle.

"What the hell's _that_?!" spat Robin as he watched Impulse charge towards the dome from the outside, slam face first into the dark barrier, then race back towards Alcatraz before he even had time to sink. "Why're you keepin' us all bottled up like this?!"

"My barrier is not intended to trap you," explained Raven, standing in front of the Tower's entrance and facing her teammates. "It is meant to keep everybody else _away_. This business does not concern them."

Before the words even finished leaving the Titan's mouth, the air before her teammates began to ripple, twisting as a strained screaming emerged. Suddenly, accompanied by a brief, bright flash of light, Lilith Clay fell to the ground, frantically gasping for every last breath she could take.

"Lilith!" Starfire leapt to the secretary's side, taking the disoriented girl by the arm and helping her to her feet. "Are you alright?!"

"I—I'm fine," whispered Lilith, still out of breath. "Getting here…was harder than I thought."

"Indeed," remarked Raven. "It is incredible that you made it through my barrier at all. You should not have been able to. The courage and perseverance you have shown is…quite impressive."

_Wonder Girl: "I'll say. When she first showed up she really had me worried. I didn't trust her anymore than I did Jupiter—why should I have? But she's proven herself. All along she was planning to stop Jupiter. She protected us and fought at our side. Even though nothing's really worked out, she still hasn't given up. I respect that."_

"Still," continued the dark empath, "Why do you act? I sense much guilt within you, regret for not trying to shut down Jupiter's operation sooner. And why did you ever take a stand on this matter in the first place? You think yourself benevolent, and there may be a degree of that involved, but you again simply felt guilt. You were afraid that if Jupiter truly _was_ your father, you would be held accountable for his actions, correct?"

Lilith grimaced. "Maybe, a little, but why should that matter?! It was still the right thing to do! I would have tried to stop him no matter _who_ he was!"

"Doubtful," stated Raven with utmost certainty.

"Leave her alone!" cried Koriand'r. "Raven, I thought you were learning to give people the benefit of the doubt! If anybody has ever deserved that, Lilith does now!"

However, Raven only frowned, her eyebrows furrowing, sending shivers down the Tamaranian's spine. "Forget it, Kory," grunted Gar. "She doesn't see good in anybody! Tara made the ultimate sacrifice to save us from her, even if she didn't have to, and Raven just smears her anyway! That's just sick!"

_Beast Boy: "Far as I'm concerned, Raven's as bad as Jupiter! Death wish?! That's a bunch of crap!"_

_Starfire: "I hope the others are not right, I hope Raven can still be saved…after all, something _must_ be wrong! She keeps ignoring me! I am her friend and yet she will not respond to anything I say! Why?!"_

"Year Gar, I'm with ya all the way there!" Cyborg leapt forward, his arm launching from his body and soaring towards the Cowl of Blood held within the empath's pale hands. "I dunno if she was _ever_ in her right mind before, but she _definitely_ ain't while she's got that thing! She's the one I gave it to when we defeated the _first_ Blood, and maybe that's what did this to her!"

Raven actually smiled. "Cyborg, you know better." A field of black leapt to life around the machine-man's robotic hand, stopping it in its tracks and sending it snapping back into place. "But, that is always your problem, is it not? You worry so much about others that you place yourself in danger trying to protect them. Someday it could be the _death_ of you."

_Cyborg: "She acts like I don't already know that. Believe me, that's why I stay away from bein' the leader an' stuff like that…but hell, if I do die savin' somebody else, it ain't a bad way to go. I'd be proud of it!"_

"Hey, lay off 'im!" objected his best friend, Garfield Logan. "You say that like it's a bad thing, but that's why Vic's so cool! He'd do anything for any of us! Yeah it's gotten on my nerves once or twice, but y'know what? I wouldn't have it any other way!"

"You would not, would you?" Raven's conceited words caused the boy's green face to turn red with anger. "What if he _does_ die, then? Could you forgive yourself? After all, this virtue of his you so admire would be the main cause of his death. Could you stand to have the guilt of another weighing you down?

"After all, you already carry _so_ much guilt within you. Terra, your parents, the Doom Patrol…you truly believe you could have saved them all. You blame yourself, Beast Boy. How much more guilt can you possibly shoulder?"

_Beast Boy: "God she knows how to cut somebody to the core…"_

"Alright, that's enough!" Dust exploded behind her as Donna Troy shot into the sky, flying straight towards her curt teammate. "Whether you deserve it or not I've been _trying_ to give you the benefit of the doubt, trying to hang back and see what's wrong with you before we _do_ anything, but I'm done with that! If you're going to attack our friends then I'm going to attack you!"

Raven simply raised her arm, and her Soul Self exploded to life around the adopted Amazon, taking possession of her costume. "Friends? It is reassuring to see that your hypocrisy is as rampant as ever."

Waving her arm to the side, the empath sent Donna flying. "Since when have you considered the other Titans friends? Allies, pawns, nuisances, yes, all of those you have called them, but…friends? Even now as you try to endear yourself to them it is only to satisfy your own need for redemption, and to try to drive off the anger, the guilt, the self-loathing you feel after losing Terry, after finding out the truth about your parents…your emotions are in such upheaval I am surprised you can even _think_."

_Wonder Girl: "No, she's…she's wrong! I mean, yes, I want to redeem myself, I don't want my own teammates to be scared of me, but I was trying to do this for _them_ too, to let them help like Kory said I should! I mean, Hera, as annoying as she could be I've always thought of Kory as a friend, and Vic too, and today even Dick and Gar have been amazing…_

"_I just don't understand her! Anything anybody tries to do, no matter how well intentioned, she can't look at anything but the downside!"_

"So what about me?" Raven's attention was now turned to Robin, Dick Grayson, who stood before her, crouched like he was ready to attack, a Redbird boomerang in each hand. "Whaddaya gotta say about me? Gonna tell me how immature I am, or how I shut everybody out, or hell, how 'bout how I've totally f---ed everything up with Kory? I mean, Jupiter already beat you to that last one, but it can't hurt to beat a dead horse, right?"

_Robin: "Yeah, she's got no ammo left if I already say everything she was gonna say anyway! If she was trying to manipulate us, make us lose our will to fight, it sure wasn't gonna work on me!"_

"Not now," replied Raven. "I am more fascinated at the moment by your determination. Do you actually plan to fight me? Do you know how futile that would be?"

Dick chuckled. "Yeah, I've got a pretty good idea. No, all I want from you is some f---ing answers! Isn't that what you brought us here for in the first place?!"

A few seconds passed, and then Raven chuckled as well. "I suppose you are correct. Forgive me—it has been quite some time since I have been able to speak freely and not pretend to stifle my emotions. Yes, I did bring all of you here to give you answers to your questions. After all, all of you have been used like pawns on a chessboard all this time—it is only fair that you know the truth before the end…"

_Robin: "Holy s---, I can't believe that worked!"_

_Starfire: "Again Dick has impressed me—but Raven…again she completely ignored me!"_

_Wonder Girl: "Good going, Dick…if this is somehow the end of the world, if what Lilith said about her visions of the future are true, then we need all the information we can get!"_

_Beast Boy: "I don't even care about her story anymore—I just wanna take her down! I guess I don't have much of a choice though…"_

"I am sure all of you have at least _heard_ of the Salem Witch Trials," began Raven. "In the year 1692 several young girls, motivated by jealously and desperate for attention, falsely accused numerous people of witchcraft, which at the time was a crime punishable by death. It was one of the most unjust moments in human history.

"However, I am sure it comes to no surprise to any of you that not _every_ accusation was false. One such girl was named Abigail Good, and her curiosity landed her in a situation she never wanted to face. She accidentally summoned a most handsome man, a man who swept her off her feet—it was not until after he had seduced her that he revealed his true form.

"For, in reality, he was the most fearsome being ever known. A monster, the source of all darkness, of all evil…_Trigon the Terrible_.

"His time in this world was quickly over, but he left a part of himself behind. Despite his nearly limitless power, he was unable to move from dimension to dimension at will. His union with Abigail was meant to sire an heir, one capable of opening the paths between dimensions, allowing Trigon free reign throughout all creation.

"His plan succeeded. _I_ am that child: Abigail was my mother, and Trigon is my father.

"Abandoned, alone, scared, Abigail could not return to her village. However, before her situation could become dire, she was found by a strange hooded figure. He was one of the founders of an interdimensional haven known as Azarath, a sanctuary where pacifists sought refuge from the violence that is so prevalent in every world.

"The monk brought my mother back to Azarath with him, and soon I was born. Just like my father himself intended to, the monks there used me, studied me with hopes of learning Trigon's weaknesses. You see, from Azarath one could see anywhere in existence, and they had been monitoring Trigon with much distress. They did not want to let him bring ruin to anymore worlds.

"So the Monks of Azarath created the Cowl of Blood. They used it to collect energy from across every dimension they had access to—but even that was not enough. They openly confronted my father, but Trigon was too strong for them to defeat. They simply succeeded in sealing him within one dimension, limiting his path of destruction to that one universe.

"But with that final attack, the Monks lost their grip on the Cowl. It fell to the world below, to _Earth_, with catastrophic results. Brother Blood after Brother Blood emerged, each causing more pain and more destruction than the last. Seeing the awful, unintended results of their actions, as noble as they may have been, the Monks decided to never again interfere with the affairs of any world outside Azarath.

"I, however, never shared their convictions. Time moves differently in Azarath, and in my 18 years of life, I have watched over 300 years of history pass before my eyes. I witnessed not only each and every Brother Blood, but every war fought, every genocide, every act of selfishness and evil and abuse and cruelty. I also saw heroes rise, but I saw those same heroes fall, all either killed or lost to the same evil they tried to fight. What little hope humanity once had has been completely extinguished.

"I pleaded with the Monks of Azarath constantly to intervene, to put an end to the evil they caused, to try to bring the peace they had found in Azarath to other worlds, but they would have none of it. They simply would not break their vow of non-interference.

"Instead, the cowards taught me to restrain my emotions. They were afraid of me, afraid that if I continued to feel disgusted by the other worlds, that I might try to take action—or worse, that my anger would somehow release my father. So they tried to repress my emotions, and forbid me from ever again watching my home planet.

"However, I could not follow their commands. The Monks' inactivity simply sickened me, but so did the appalling behavior of the humans on Earth. It took quite some time, but I finally came to learn the one truth to the universe—there is no innocence, only evil.

"Indeed, I came to believe that all existence deserved to be punished for their overwhelming hatred, selfishness and greed. And who is better qualified to carry out that sentence then my father, Trigon the Terrible?

"First, though, I personally brought punishment to Azarath. I killed the monks, destroyed the city, devastated everything they ever stood for. Then I came to Earth.

"I needed the Cowl of Blood—only by using its abilities could I gather enough energy to break the seal that keeps Trigon imprisoned. However, despite Azarath's technology, I lost track of the Cowl's whereabouts over a hundred years ago. But I knew that all who possessed the Cowl were tempted by great power, and who in this world has more power than a superhero?

"All along, the Teen Titans were _my_ idea. What better than a public group of powerful superheroes to attract the attention of the newest Brother Blood? All along, Titans, your purpose was simply to get the Cowl into my hands.

"However, I did not quite have the understanding to get such a project off the ground, and while my abilities allowed me to manipulate the emotions of others, I could not control actions specifically enough to fit my needs. So, with much effort, I managed to contact my father for a few brief moments.

"And he found Mr. Jupiter.

"A struggling writer, Jupiter already had the contacts in the entertainment industry we needed. Tempted by our false offer of power, Jupiter agreed to work with us, and with help from Trigon, we managed to grant him the power of telepathy.

"So Jupiter was able to get anything he wanted, and he set up the show, recruited all of you, and manipulated events behind the scenes to gain the maximum amount of fans.

"And now Jupiter has paid the required price for his evil deeds, and your fans are engrossed by your recent exploits against Deathstroke. I have all the energy I need to release Trigon, to begin the end of the world…to _cleanse the Earth…_"

All this time the Teen Titans had been listening to her story, their jaws nearly falling off their faces in shock at what they heard.

_Robin: "So that's it. Should've known. All along she's nothin' more than a straight up, crazy b----!"_

_Cyborg: "Dammit, why didn't I try to uncover Jupiter's hand in this earlier?! Instead I spent my time tryin' to help Wally an' the others, and yeah, maybe that worked out, but all of that's gonna be pretty worthless if the whole world's gone!"_

_Starfire: "Her story…I cannot believe it! Even if she claims these answers are truth, there is still something else missing! This is not the Raven I know, and I refuse to believe I have been lied to all this time!"_

Finally, it was Lilith Clay who broke the silence. "You're…you're a _monster!_"

"I have been called that before," replied Raven with a shrug. "However, it is normally only simple minded, naïve fools who have the gall to level such charges on me. Still, once I embraced my father's path I took on this new appearance, so I suppose those who call me a monster finally have some sort of point."

"No, they _always_ had a point!" objected Donna. "You're not a monster because of how you look, but because you've condemned all of existence because you don't like the way the world works!"

Raven just looked down her nose at the adopted Amazon. "So you think this world is fair then? You think good still exists in a world where Terry Long is dead and Deathstroke is still alive?"

_Wonder Girl: "Hera, she knows how to hurt somebody…she fights us with our own emotions, hits our weak spots so we can't think logically…but I'm not going to give in! I won't see things her way!"_

However, it wasn't Donna Troy who answered her question. "Yeah!" cried Gar Logan, "I can't speak for Donna, but I sure know I think it does! I mean, heck, I've been through so much crap I can't even keep it straight anymore, but even _with_ all the people I've lost, even though I spent a few years on the street, I've had a ton of fun in my life!

"Vic an' Kory an' Dick, and Tara an' the Doom Patrol an' my parents…I know good exists in the world 'cause I know my friends! None of them deserve to be destroyed!"

"Seriously!" This time it was Victor Stone throwing in his two cents. "You've been with us since the beginning! Don't tell me you haven't learned anything! Yeah there's some pretty damn awful people out there, but there's just as many of us good ones out there, riskin' our hides to stop those evil jerks! If you hate evil so much, you should be workin' _with_ us to protect people!"

There was a slight pause as Raven pondered how to reply—though her mind had long ago been made up as to her stand in this matter. "Once I shared your viewpoint, Cyborg, but…there is simply no innocence to protect in this world anymore. There are only those who are more evil than others…"

The empath stopped talking for a second, as if she was struggling with whether to say this next sentence at all. Finally, though, the words came out. "Truth be told, obtaining the Cowl of Blood was not the only reason I created the Teen Titans. I also wanted to immerse myself in the world of heroes…to see how they acted, how they lived, how they would react to the worst the world had to offer first hand.

"Perhaps I hoped all of you would prove me wrong…but sadly that was not the case. In the time we have been together I have seen within you all arrogance, selfishness, an inability to communicate properly, an unwillingness to cooperate fully with others…I am sad to say you have not restored my faith in humanity…"

_Robin: "Well, _duh_! She expected a buncha teenagers to make her thinks humans're good?! We're f---ing angst factories!"_

_Cyborg: "Yeah, I admit we ain't always been the best examples, that's pretty obvious! But at this point I think Raven coulda hung with the JLA and come to the same conclusion! She just can't see the good in anybody! Damn, she can't even really ever let herself _hope_…"_

All the while Starfire stood, her mind boggled as she watched her friend, as she heard the heartless, cynical words Raven was speaking. Her heart plunged, but she refused to let herself lose faith. This all _couldn't_ be true!

"_Lies!_" cried the Tamaranian as she shot forward like a rocket, hurling a vicious uppercut into Raven's chin and actually managing to send her flying. She hit the ground, bouncing a couple of times before regaining her composure and floating into the air. She didn't look pained—more than anything, Raven was simply…_confused_.

"Maybe some of what you say_ is_ true!" exclaimed Kory. "Maybe you really do intend to destroy the world! But I cannot believe that you find no good in any of us!

"You told me that I was your friend! That you admired how I treated people and felt about them! Well, I _refuse_ to believe that all those things you told me were lies! Maybe I am not an empath as you are, but I could see it on your face! I just know you were telling the truth! Tell me Raven, is that why you were ignoring me?! Because you could not face the fact that you have faith in _me_?!"

_Robin: "S---, I know it's wrong to get turned on during the end of the world, but hell…just listen to her!"_

Indeed, Raven seemed just as moved. "Koriand'r, I…you are correct. What I have told you was indeed true. I admire that you can give everybody a bright smile and the benefit of the doubt. I find within you pure innocence, no malicious intent…but I cannot say this ever completely surprised me. After all, you are not human."

_Beast Boy: "Great, so now she's racist…wait, that wouldn't be right…what the heck would you even call that? Alienist? Specieist? We really need words for this crap…"_

"Still, Koriand'r, I apologize." Raven moved her arm to the side, and a wall of black grew from the ground, a small door of darkness just a little taller and wider than the alien princess herself. "I never intended to include you in my judgment of Earth. Here, this portal will bring you home, to Tamaran. Perhaps you and the rest of your kind can mount a counterattack against Trigon before he reaches your world…"

Her eyes open wide, Kory looked at the door with her mouth agape. Then, she slowly turned and looked back at her friends.

_Wonder Girl: "She had me worried for a second…I know Tamaran is fighting a war, I know she misses her home…but she's _Starfire!_ She always comes through for us when we need her."_

_Robin: "I thought that was it, I thought she'd leave and it would be all my g—damn fault. After all, last time I let her down she thought she had no other reason to stay here…and here she was, finally with a chance to get home, and without me as a boyfriend…"_

_Starfire: "I cannot say that Raven's offer was not tempting. I ache to see Tamaran again. I miss my mother and father and brother and my whole world so greatly! But…I could not abandon my friends, nor this world that has welcomed me so warmly! Not in their hour of need!"_

"No." Starfire stared resolutely at her friend, never wavering. "I appreciate the offer, Raven, but I cannot leave! I will not abandon my friends or this planet, not when it is threatened!

"After all, I have been welcomed so warmly here! Raven, in your time on Earth you say you have only seen pain and suffering, but to me it is the opposite! I mean, yes, I cannot deny that those things _exist_, but they are _not_ all this world _is_! There are kind and caring people with good intentions, and maybe they make mistakes occasionally, but for the most part, most people are good people at their core!

"So I will not stand here and let them be destroyed! Raven, you have the ability to feel what those people feel, to sense what _I_ feel! Give us another chance! Give _yourself_ a chance to experience all the wonderful things humanity has to offer!"

_Starfire: "I mean, as much as Raven admires _me_, I know I am not perfect, and neither is Tamaran nor the people on _it_! If she is going to give us a chance to fight back, then Earth deserves the same! She could appreciate humans if she would only let herself!"_

_Beast Boy: "Man, I can't believe how brave Kory's bein'…but I don't think it's gonna work. It's pretty easy to lose faith in people, an' I know I've come pretty close myself a couple've times. It takes a lot to get it back, and I just don't think Raven's, y'know, _strong_ enough to change her mind!"_

A few tense seconds passed before Raven again spoke. "So, Koriand'r, you truly think the humans can rise above their inherent darkness? You truly think they can fight back and prove themselves worthwhile, innocent, pure?"

"I am certain of it!" exclaimed the alien. She didn't need _any_ time to think—she just knew!

"Then…I will give all of you one more chance." The Titans practically fainted as the words left Raven's mouth. "Prove to me that your light shines stronger than your darkness…that you can overcome the evil within you…and you will win."

_Beast Boy: "Holy crap, I was wrong! She's actually changin' her mind!"_

_Cyborg: "Wait…what does she mean, 'and we will win?' Win _what_?"_

A radiant smile filled Starfire's face, and she was about to hug her friend—then Raven lashed out, thrusting one arm ahead of her and sending her Soul Self exploding around the alien princess, sending her flying backwards across the sandy shore, flat on her back, unconscious, with dark electricity still sparking across her orange body.

_Beast Boy: "Crap, I wasn't wrong after all! She lied! Crap crap _crap_, why of all times was I finally right 'bout something _now_?!"_

_Robin: "Despite the fact that Raven lied, that she was 'bout to end the f---ing _world_, all I could think about was Kory! I rushed to her side, hopin' she was still alive, and that's when it finally hit me, once an' for all. This time there weren't no doubts, I knew it plain as anything: I _love_ that girl!"_

_Wonder Girl: "Hera, I actually thought it was over, that Kory's faith had saved us all…how _naïve_ I was. Raven's as bad as the darkness she thought she was fighting: hope never would have persuaded her…"_

But before they could do _anything_ to stop her, darkness shot from the rest of the Teen Titans as well. One by one they collapsed, until only Lilith Clay was left standing. Much to her horror though, as she saw her friends fall unconscious around her, she realized that nothing was happening to her! Raven's Soul Self merely fizzled out, leaving her unharmed.

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. That explains how you were able to teleport past my barrier…you are immune to my abilities…"

Lilith gasped. "But…how?"

"Does it matter now?" asked the dark empath. "The world is coming to an end. Discovering your origins is rather worthless in the face of that." Lilith growled, but Raven carried on anyway. "I sense your frustration and how frightened you are, but do not be scared. You will be the only person to survive and witness my father's ascension. Consider it a _privilege._"

"The _only_ person? You'll be there too!" countered the red-headed girl. "Do you think you can live with that? To see all the destruction you've caused? You go on and on about how much you hate evil, but you're just as bad as you think everybody else is! The guilt is going to tear you apart!"

"Of course it would," stated Raven matter-of-factly. "And you are correct—deserved or not, I cannot continue to live after bringing destruction to this world. Fortunately, I do not have to. To free Trigon, I must channel all the energy the Cowl of Blood has absorbed through my Soul Self, creating a portal…but my mind will not be able to survive the strain of handling that much power. I will not survive…"

"But if you…why didn't you give us a chance? Why did you lie to Starfire?!"

"I did not." Raven was resolute in this. She almost seemed offended. "I told Koriand'r that if humanity could overcome the evil within them, they could still win…and I meant it. I was never going to change my actions. The fate of the world now rests in _their_ hands…"

Lilith was speechless. She'd tried everything, and nothing worked! It was all beginning to hit her. Her visions…she'd failed! She'd let them come true! What could she even do to stop Raven now?! What was left?!

The dark empath herself, meanwhile, put the cowl over her head. She floated into the sky, rising above the tower and raising her hands above her head.

Suddenly an idea hit Lilith. _'Titans, get up! I know you are exhausted, but we need you now more than ever! We need you to fight! You are the world's only hope!'_

Slowly the Titans started to stir. They pushed against the ground, trembling and shaking, using all the strength they had—yet they still weren't on their feet.

"Cowl, lend me all your energy," said Raven, almost chanting. "I give it to you, father. Trigon the Terrible, come forth!"

_'Get up!'_

The Titans finally managed to stand up thanks to Lilith's mental prodding, but alas—it was too late.

The dome around Titans Island disappeared as Raven's full Soul Self sprang to life around her in the shape of a giant bird, spreading its black wings through the sky. Almost immediately it turned crimson as the power of the Cowl of Blood flowed through it. The Soul Self grew bigger and bigger until it blocked out the entire sky.

Then it _exploded_.

Raven's body fell, disappearing before it hit the ground. The sky seemed to crack as a new figure stepped through the portal. He was twice as tall as the Tower itself. His massive feet were hooved, and his body was red. His four red eyes were filled with an even darker shade of pure red energy. White hair topped his head, and tremendous antlers crowned his head as well.

"Free at _last!_" proclaimed Raven's father, his voice booming and shaking the ground. Energy exploded from his body, quickly overtaking the entire _planet_! The sky turned red, the seas turned to burning magma, and everything on land turned to stone.

Everything except Lilith Clay.

The monster smiled as he looked at his handiwork. "This world belongs to _Trigon the Terrible!_"

Meanwhile, tears fell from Lilith's eyes as she looked at her petrified friends.

The Teen Titans had been turned into stone.

And with them gone, so was all hope for saving the Earth…

Next time: I vs. I


	25. I vs I

OOC: Wow. It…it's been a year to the _day_ since I last posted a chapter of this story. I am _so_ sorry! There is no excuse for taking that long to finish the story. Indeed, that's part of why I took so long, because after a certain point I felt ashamed to even start putting up chapters again.

Why it took me so long to write this is a very long, and not very entertaining story. I just want to thank the fans that wrote to me wanting more of the story, and inspired me to take up my pen again and start to finish what I started. There are two chapters left to this story, and I promise, they will not take a year to finish.

For now, please just enjoy the story, and please, let me know what you think! I appreciate everybody who ever has read this story and ever will! Thank you!

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and are owned by DC Comics.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 25: I vs. I**

**ROLE CALL:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Pure-hearted alien powerhouse.

**Omen—**Lilith Clay: Telepath and precognitive searching for her parents.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

Over 300 years ago, a child was born. Though her mother was human, her father was a great evil, the source of all darkness in existence, the scourge of the universe. This girl's name was Raven, and her and her mother were rescued by the monks of a pacifist haven known as Azarath.

On Azarath Raven was raised to stifle her emotions and not interfere with the worlds she observed, but she could not follow these guidelines. She was an empath, able to sense and feel the emotions of others, and the suffering and evil she observed was too much for her to take.

Time moved differently in Azarath, and in her 18 years of life she watched 300 years of human history…and gave into the cynicism that was slowly building up within her. She came to believe that humanity was incapable of innocence, that all of creation deserved to be destroyed.

So she destroyed Azarath herself, then set her sights on releasing her father, Trigon the Terrible, so he could bring ruin and punish all within his reach. To this end she assembled a group of teenagers into a reality TV show super-team: The Teen Titans. Through manipulating them and a man named Loren Jupiter, she finally reached her goal: releasing Trigon.

In the process, however, Raven lost her life.

Just before her death, Raven had nearly been talked out of her path by her only friend, the alien princess known as Starfire. She had made a promise to the alien, that if humanity could overcome the darkness within them, they could still win. However, that promise seemed in vain now…

The sky seemed to explode as Trigon entered this dimension, the massive twenty story tall monster shaking the ground as he took his first steps. His voice rattled deep with bass as he proclaimed his newfound dominance over this planet. And immediately a wave shot from his body, traveling across the entire world in mere moments.

The sea turned to piping hot magma as the wave passed over it. The sky turned red as lightning perpetually cracked through it. Everything else was instantly petrified, buildings and people becoming nothing more than fancy statues.

Only the telepath Lilith—former secretary to Mr. Jupiter himself—was spared, but she didn't know what good she could do. The Teen Titans were stone, and with them gone, so was all her hope.

Indeed, it seemed _nobody_ on the planet could fight back now…

*****A FEW MOMENTS EARLIER*****

*****OFF THE AIR—ALCATRAZ ISLAND. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

"C'mon, I'm serious!" Roy Harper, the government sanctioned ace archer known as Arsenal, yelled into his communicator. "Just because I'm with Titans East doesn't mean I'm full of crap! It's the end of the world! Get me some help here!"

Around the weapon master paced the rest of Titans East. Lilith had told them to have faith before she teleported away, but it wasn't easy when their friends were facing the fights of their lives. They could be _dead_ already, and they couldn't do a thing to stop it!

"I hope Impulse is having better luck than Roy is," lamented Magenta as she stared at her feet, on the verge of tears. "I feel so helpless…guys, there has to be something we can do!"

"If I knew where the League's HQ was I could 'port us there faster then even Impulse can run," said Herald, "But right now, ain't much more I _can_ do! Dammit! Stupid dome! How can she stop my horn?"

His girlfriend, Bumblebee, was kneeling, her back leaning against the wall. "What could we do anyway?" she asked, her voice weak, hollow. "I only got into this team in the first place to show off my tech…I never thought I'd be fighting to save the world! We're not ready for this! We can't do it!"

"Yes we can!"

Bette Kane, the heiress known as Flamebird, grabbed all their attention.

"Maybe the Titans put us down before, but we helped them in their time of need! We're gonna do everything we can! We're gonna fight back! We're go—"

Suddenly, though, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Bette?" Her teammates all perked up a bit, concerned over the fate of their friend. Fran started to move towards her. "Bette, what's wrong?"

What was wrong was that Flamebird had seen, though one of the holes their battle had torn in the wall, Trigon's wave of power heading towards them. Her eyes grew wide as saucers, and as they met their doom, she couldn't even find the strength to move.

"Oh my god…"

*****A FRAT HOUSE—SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

It was a perfect day at one of the many fraternity houses that littered the campus of DCU University. Scattered unconscious bodies of the drunk students lay randomly across the front lawn. Inside the party was still going strong, and as would be expected, Matt Logan was in the center of the ruckus.

"Wooohoooo!" cheered Beast Boy's cousin as the skinny slacker stood atop an end table with a lampshade over his head. "This party is kick_ass!_"

Two of the fraternity brothers passing by gave him an awkward look. "Who's this loser?"

"Beats me," replied his friend. "I don't even think he goes to this _school_."

Matt paid them no attention. "C'mon guys, party hardy! We're gonna live forever!"

And then Trigon's petrification wave tore through the house in less than a moment. The bodies littering the lawn became nothing but stone, and Matt became nothing but a lampshade-wearing statue…

*****DCU UNIVERSITY CAMPUS—SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

"Sean! Sean, wait up!"

Sarah Simms, girlfriend of the Teen Titan Cyborg, dashed down a sidewalk, past tall brick buildings housing the prestigious college's classrooms. Finally she caught up to her infamous brother: Sean Simms.

"Oh, hey sis," said the boy offhandedly. A year older than his sister, Sean was the subject of many stories from the blonde girl, yet, oddly enough, he hadn't yet met her new beau. "So, you've finally got a minute away from your guy of the week?"

"Please Sean, Vic's not like the others!"

The boy frowned. "I hope so. You know I love ya', sis, but you've got some _awful_ taste in guys."

Sarah chuckled. "You're telling _me_. But like I said, Vic's not like the others! He's the nicest guy I've ever met!"

Her brother gritted his teeth. "Yeah, but he's also nearly getting you killed on a weekly basis!"

"And he's always been there to protect me! I'm not gonna let him pass me by cause of being a coward, Sean!" She grabbed her brother by his shoulder, finally stopping both of them in their tracks. "Please meet him! That's all I ask!"

Sean looked down at his little sister and the puppy-dog eyes she was flashing him, and he just couldn't resist. "Fine sis, ya got me. When you wanna set this thing up?"

Suddenly, though, their attention was captured by the wall of white that was moving across the city at speeds that would make the Flash envious. As it turned everything in its path to stone, Sarah Simms only had one thought.

"Vic…where are you?"

*****THE ALLEN RESIDENCE—KEYSTONE CITY, KANSAS, USA*****

"I wonder where Wally is?"

Barry Allen and his wife, Iris, both sat around their dining room table, waiting for their nephew, Wally West, to return from his first day of school. After the trials he'd been through as a Teen Titan, they thought he deserved a reward: a cake in his honor sat in the center of the table, and they were ready to celebrate.

"Maybe he went somewhere," replied Barry, stroking his chin. "Who knows, maybe he made some friends. I sure hope so…"

"Me too," said Iris hesitantly as she walked towards the front window. "But still, even as much as Wally's grown up these past few months, it still seems odd for him to make friends _this_ fast."

"Granpa Barry! Granpa Barry!"

Suddenly Impulse came barreling through the wall, skidding to a stop in the living room. The young speedster was Bart Allen, Barry's grandson from the future, and he had a dire message.

"Bart, what's wrong?"

"Granpa Barry, it's bad! We need you! We need to get the JLA _now_!"

Barry's eyes shot open wide. He'd _never_ seen his grandson so focused and concerned—something _really_ must have been wrong!

He pressed a button on his ring and a scarlet costume emerged, expanding on contact with the air. In less than a second Barry had donned the suit, becoming the Flash, the fastest man alive!

"Be careful, hon." Iris planted a kiss on her husband's cheek. "Come back to me in one piece, _both_ of you."

"I always do, Iris. I love you."

Impulse, meanwhile, was hopping impatiently—which was much more like him. "C'mon granpa, we hafta go _now_!"

So two of the fastest men alive took off, but even they couldn't outrun Trigon's attack as it made its way across the planet. The Flash and Impulse were both petrified in mid-stride, unable to call for help…

*****DEO HEADQUARTERS—HOLDING CELLS. WASHINGTON D.C., USA*****

A man in his late fifties was sitting on a bench in a tiny cell, so small it was surprising it didn't collapse in on itself. He was tied up in a straightjacket and chained to the wall, and the collar around his neck provided random bursts of low level electricity to keep him under control. His living conditions would be sure to have human rights activists in an uproar, if they knew the cell existed.

But the prison was a secret to anybody outside of the U.S. Government, and the prisoner, in all honesty, needed every bit of that security just to keep him from escaping. After all, he was Slade Wilson, Deathstroke, the most deadly mercenary alive.

A guard stood outside Slade's door, peering in through a small slot. "Tell me, punk, just what makes you decide to pick on a bunch of kids anyway?"

Deathstroke just chuckled. "The Titans' ages had nothing to do with it. They ruined my reputation and my pride—I _had_ to make them pay. And now that they've taken my _children_ away from me…

"When I get out of here they will pay _dearly_ for robbing me of such valuable assets."

The guard frowned. "You're insane. Hope you rot in here for the rest of your life."

Slade only laughed harder, for he saw it coming before the guard even had an inkling of what was in store for him. "Amusing. Despite your stupidity it appears you'll get your wish after all…though you'll be going to hell first, it seems."

Before the guard could even try to figure out what his prisoner meant he was turned to stone. The unstoppable wave moved towards Deathstroke, and despite being trapped, chained, weakened, unable to even try to escape, the mercenary only smiled.

_'I've always been prepared to go down at some point…some day when somebody gets a lucky shot or when I finally pushed a cape too far…and I never thought I would have any regrets when the time finally came._

_ 'Yet with the Teen Titans I finally felt regret. I would _never_ allow myself to die while they still lived, but now…the whole _world_ is going to die._

_ 'Looks like, in the end, I got what I wanted after all, Teen Titans. Enjoy the afterlife…'_

*****A CAVE BENEATH WAYNE MANOR—GOTHAM CITY, NEW JERSEY, USA*****

As a child, Bruce Wayne watched his parents murdered by a desperate robber. Traumatized, he made a vow to rid the world of the evil that took his parents' life—he traveled the world, learning every skill imaginable, before returning home and becoming the Batman, the dark knight, the scourge of the underworld!

Bruce now sat at a lab table in his cave, the lair he'd created under his home to serve as the Batman's base of operations. He mixed two chemicals together, waiting for their reaction—at the same time, his mind was running over several concurrent cases. Suddenly, though, he heard somebody else enter the cave.

"Looks like you win, Bruce," grumbled Robin, the Batman's young partner and the namesake of the Teen Titan Dick Grayson, as he walked down the stairs and past his mentor. "I tried everything I could, but Dick just wouldn't change his mind!"

"Good," said Batman bluntly, without ever looking up from his work. "It's about time he embraced his destiny. Dick has a lot of potential, but he's just been holding himself back by playing the fool."

Robin paced across the room, mumbling under his breath, until he turned and faced the dark knight. "He's going to end up just like you, y'know," spat the young detective. "He's going to grow up and be angry and miserable and alone, nothing to live for but his work. Maybe _you_ can handle that, but it's gonna tear Dick apart and you know it!"

"You don't get into this line of work for personal benefit, Robin," lectured the caped crusader. "It's about time Dick learned that."

"You just don't get it!" exclaimed Robin in frustration. "For once, this isn't about crime fighting! It's about having a life, and he's going to throw his away! I was trying to _help_ him! I was trying to help _both_ of you!"

"And you've been a tremendous help on the streets, but I don't _need_ any help with my personal life, thank you very much."

"Then maybe I should just quit this. Batgirl and Oracle more than have your back on the street—the kind of help _I_ was offering is obviously unwelcome here!"

Finally Batman looked up and locked eyes with his young partner. "Robin, don't threat—"

Suddenly, though, the crime-fighter's sentence was cut off mid-word as he gasped. "Robin, look out!"

The boy just raised an eyebrow. "Wha—"

"Behind you!"

Robin span and saw a streak of white consuming everything. Even deep underground, they could not escape the unending march of Trigon's destructive wave. The boy's jaw fell like it had come unhinged—he tried to move, but he'd gone into shock. He just couldn't find the strength!

"Robin!" Batman leapt from his seat and charged for the tiny detective. "_TIM!_"

But even Batman was not fast enough to save his partner. Instantly Tim Drake was petrified, turned to stone, and only a second later Bruce Wayne met the same fate…

*****TOKYO, JAPAN*****

Straining, Superman pushed the top twelve stories of a building back onto their bottom half. With a quick blast of his heat vision he welded the two halves together, again reuniting the skyscraper into one coherent whole.

Floating higher above the skyline, the man of steel looked down happily at the city. The earthquake had taken its toll, of course, but thanks to his timely intervention, many lives had been saved and millions of dollars in property damage had been prevented.

Suddenly, though, Superman's peace was disturbed. His prodigious hearing picked up thousands of panicked screams—then suddenly, nothing. Turning, he soared over the Pacific Ocean, all the while using his telescopic vision to check it out.

The sight he was greeted with chilled him to the bone. A red monster stood victoriously while all around him flared a blinding white wave of destruction that left everything in its path beyond repair.

He could only think of one thing to do, but there wasn't much time! Superman slammed on the breaks, then immediately soared in the other direction. His only chance was beating the wave to New York, and with its point of origin being San Francisco, he certainly couldn't take the quicker path across the United States.

So instead the Kryptonian barreled over Asia, Europe, and the Atlantic Ocean—and while he couldn't reach the time-bending speeds that the Flash and his crew could, he sure could come close. In only a few seconds he'd reached New York, and he didn't stop his flight as he tore straight through an apartment building's wall.

Inside was the magician Zatanna, preparing for her stage show later that night. As she twirled her rod in her hand, she was immediately brought to attention by Superman tearing through the wall of her apartment!

"Clark? What're you—"

"There's no time, Zee!" cried Superman as he dug his heels into the room's floor and grinded to a halt. Grabbing his teammate's shoulder, he continued, "Get us to the Watchtower _now!_"

Suddenly Zatanna could sense it—and a moment later, Trigon's wave came into sight through the newly-torn hole in the wall. The girl's eyes shot open wide.

"Tropelet su ot eht Rewothctaw _won!_"

*****THE WATCHTOWER, JLA HEADQUARTERS—THE MOON*****

The Justice League of America was the mightiest team of heroes ever assembled. Countless heroes, nearly all the super-powered protectors of the world, were a part of the massive group, and a team that expansive needed a base just as impressive.

The Watchtower fulfilled that need quite nicely.

That base stretched for several miles and just as many stories, and just to add an extra layer of prestige, it was located on the moon! Inside several dozen heroes worked at a time, working out, preparing for missions, using its resources, or simply just keeping in contact with other members of the League.

"Can you believe that, Diana? Can you really believe she did that to me?"

Kyle Rayner, the young space cop known as Green Lantern, sat at a table in the Watchtower's cafeteria, his face in his hands, as he talked to Princess Diana of Themyscara, the legendary icon known as Wonder Woman. Just the day before Kyle had returned from a long case on the far reaches of the universe only to find that, while he was gone, his girlfriend Donna Troy, the Titan known as Wonder Girl, had cheated on him. _Twice._ To say he was crushed would be an understatement. Fortunately for him, Wonder Woman was the perfect shoulder to cry on. Not only was Diana one of the most compassionate, empathetic members of the League, but she was also Donna's adopted sister—so obviously, she was quite knowledgeable about the young Amazon.

"No," said Diana, still rather shocked herself, "That is rather hard to believe, indeed..."

Growling, Kyle countered, "What, you don't think she did it?"

"I didn't say that," said the Amazon princess in a tone that, while not overtly angry, definitely let the young Lantern know she meant business. "Donna is certainly as capable of making mistakes as anybody else.

"I wish I could help you more, but I have to admit love isn't exactly an area I'm overly familiar with. Honestly, I'm glad Donna is taking chances and being more human; it is a huge part of heritage, after all. But Kyle, I'm sorry she treated you the way she did. That is inexcusable. I'll be sure to have a talk with her, find out exactly what's wrong...but I urge you to do the same."

The Green Lantern just gave her another stupefied expression. "I already did that! What a disaster that was!"

Diana shook her head. "No, when you talked to Donna, you were hurt and angry, and so was she. Neither of you was in any position to try to figure out what was going on. Give it some time, a week or several, whatever you need, then go back and work things out. It's obvious a lack of communication was to blame here, so the best thing you can possibly do is just _talk."_

Finally some hope sparked in Kyle's eyes. "And you think that will help me win her back?"

Wonder Woman cringed. While her main objective here was to help out her friend, and while she would never be blunt about it, she _was_ an embodiment of truth. She couldn't lie to Kyle. "Perhaps...but perhaps not. I wouldn't hope for it too much...let's just aim for repairing your friendship first, shall we?"

"Hey, it's fine with me," said Kyle as he flashed his killer smile. Diana smiled in return—he just may make it through this after all, she thought!

Suddenly, though, the two Leaguers' attentions were stolen completely by the whaling siren and flashing red light that constituted the League's emergency beacon. Without a thought Green Lantern and Wonder Woman took off, dashing to the Watchtower's main deck in seconds.

Standing on a bridge was an African-American man in a black and gray uniform and jacket, and with a black 'T' shaped mask obscuring his face. He was Mr. Terrific—a.k.a. Michael Holt, one of the top three smartest men alive and one of the few Leaguers capable of running the Watchtower's complicated main console on his own.

As Diana and Kyle skidded to a stop before him, several dozen heroes followed them, pouring into the room from every entrance. "Terrific, what's wrong?" asked the Amazon.

"Yeah!" chimed in the Lantern. "It's not everyday you hear an Omega Level alarm!"

"And it's not everyday it's justified to set one off," countered Mr. Terrific, "But today's certainly one of those days!" He pressed a button and suddenly the entire deck was covered in holographic images of Earth, and the catastrophic damage Trigon had caused there—or at least what had managed to been captured before the JLA's cameras were petrified as well. The League was stunned. Of all the heroes there, not a single one of them had ever seen an attack so ruthless, so sudden, so utterly _devastating_.

Flapping her wings, Hawkgirl flew through the holograms, growing grimmer with each passing image. "What the hell's going on there?"

"I hate to admit it, but I don't know," sighed Terrific as his fingers moved across the keyboard so fast they were practically dancing. "All I know is that our monitors picked up a sudden energy fluctuation, and all of a sudden a wave of white turned Earth into..._that!"_

_ "_Fine," growled the Thanagarian as she gripped her mace tightly, "Then how about another question: What are we going to do about it?"

Mr. Terrific finally stopped moving. His head hung low as he leaned over the console. "I've tried contacting our Earth bound agents, but none of them are responding."

"What?" Kyle practically blew a gasket. "But half the _teams _down there!"

"Then we better get down there and take care of this ourselves!" exclaimed Hawkgirl as she turned and flew towards the docking bay.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A deep, commanding voice stopped the winged warrior in her tracks. Everybody looked up, and there they saw J'onn J'onnz, the Martian Manhunter, phasing through the ceiling. He slowly hovered to the floor, standing fully erect in perfect posture. "I sent a probe down a few minutes ago to investigate the problem further, but it was unable to penetrate the shield currently enclosing the Earth. To try to take a ship down would only be suicide."

Hawkgirl tried not to look angry, but that certainly wasn't easy for her. Meanwhile, J'onn flew onto the bridge. "Mr. Terrific, what about the teleporters?"

"It's too risky to try to send a human into that," said the genius as he leaned down and placed an apple into one of the teleporter tubes, "But if we run a little test first..."

He dashed back to his console and pressed a few choice buttons. The teleporter came to life with a loud humming noise, and a second later the tube filled with blue light. The League watched with baited breath as the light enveloped the apple. It shook, started to fade away—then exploded into a million pieces, sending apple chunks and apple sauce all across the bridge.

"Alright, that's obviously out," grunted Kyle Rayner, running a little low on patience. "What the hell are we supposed to do now?"

Suddenly, though, the room was filled with a tremendously bright flash of purple sparks! They escalated into a full-fledged explosion, and as the smoke cleared, Superman and Zatanna now stood on the Watchtower.

"Kal! Zatanna!" Wonder Woman dashed to her teammates' side and helped both stunned Leaguers to their feet. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," grunted Superman. He didn't look too badly hurt, but his teammates were still rather shocked—they didn't even usually get to see the Man of Steel get _winded_!

Panting, Zatanna added between breaths, "Yes, it simply...was harder to escape that wave than I thought it would be."

"What's going on down there, Superman?" asked Mr. Terrific, not having time to waste. "We simply can't get enough data up here, and I can't contact anybody down there who would be able to _do_ anything!"

"I don't think there's anybody left there _to_ contact," said Superman in an uncharacteristically downtrodden tone. "Everything's just...stone now. I saw the monster responsible for it with my telescopic vision, but I have no idea where he's from. I even looked at him at a molecular level, but I couldn't recognize anything about him. Its completely foreign...a total mystery..."

"Fortunately, that doesn't mean I can't stop it." Zatanna allowed herself a slight grin as her tophat and wand appeared on her head and in her hand. "Esrever eht ygrene evaw taht si gnimusnoc Htrae!"

Energies of all colors burst to life, billowing around the magician, but just as it looked like her spell was going to work, a burst of black and crimson power exploded, sending the fishnet-clad woman sprawling across the room.

As she tried to climb to her feet, she could only mutter in amazement, "So…so powerful…" However, the more she thought about it, the more she realized…it was familiar.

"Oh god!" Zatanna exclaimed. "It feels like…it feels like _Raven!_"

Kyle nearly lost it. "Wait, the creepy Teen Titan I _never_ liked? _That_ Raven?"

Zatanna nodded.

"She's right," said Superman solemnly, "It makes sense. I don't know about Raven, but where I saw the monster...it was in California. And today, I was with Robin, and when I left him he was called away on some sort of Titans mission..."

"Then I suppose it is up to the Titans to come through now," said Martian Manhunter as his eyes lit up orange. "I am trying to telepathically contact Adam Strange on Rann and see if he can modify their Zeta Beam to perhaps teleport past the barrier, but in the meantime, we have no other choice but to wait...and hope."

"We have to hope the freaking _Teen Titans_ can save the world?" Kyle Rayner was rather appalled at the idea. "God, we are so doomed."

However, suddenly Superman stepped into the center of the crowd. He stood straight and crossed his arms, a pose that always commanded attention. All eyes were on him.

"No. I think they can do it. They're still heroes! Right now, they're the only hope we have! We _have_ to believe in them!"

The Green Lantern looked back and forth at the crowd of assembled heroes as they slowly accepted their inspiration's speech. And then, even Kyle Rayner had to admit it. No matter what had gone down between their two teams, no matter what had gone down between him and Donna, he knew they could pull through. They _had _to.

"Yeah," he said with a smile. "They can do it!"

*****NOW*****

*****TITANS ISLAND. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

Meanwhile, on Earth, Lilith Clay was the last human who hadn't been turned to stone, the only living being left on the devastated planet.

She shook as around her stood the five petrified bodies of the Teen Titans. She tried to hold back her tears, tried to be brave in the face of the end of the world, but she just couldn't. She'd seen this in her premonitions, but she still wasn't prepared for it!

"Human." The ground shook as Trigon the Terrible spoke. The titanic red monster's eyes were filled with crimson energy that flared around them, as if it was eager to escape and reek havoc. "How are you still alive?"

Lilith tried to answer, but was shaking too much to reply.

"No matter, it does not concern me." Trigon took a step forward, which practically shook the entire planet. "I will simply exterminate your insignificant, pitiful life in a more conventional way. You deserve no more of my time."

The former secretary fell to her knees as he continued. "Indeed, the privilege you have received even just from hearing me speak is far too high for one of your miserable species. Die."

And as Lilith Clay's heart nearly stopped beating in her chest, she was too preoccupied with her impending doom to even sense the faint mental signatures still coming from the five Teen Titan statues at her side. Unlike everybody else on the planet, they could still _think_.

Indeed, inside their minds was a whole _world_ of activity...

*****INSIDE THE MIND OF CYBORG, VICTOR STONE*****

Victor Stone's head was groggy—his mechanical eye full of static. Slowly it faded away as he pulled himself to his feet, his attention diverted as he tried to access his sensors and find out exactly what was going on!

After all, his last memory was of Raven betraying the team, of her releasing her father, then—nothing! He expected to see ruin, destruction, death, but instead, he was greeted by…_Harlem?_

The robotic Titan scratched his head in confusion—he was born there, but why did he show up there _now?_ How did he get here? Cyborg's keen mind was running a mile a minute, but instantly his attention became focused elsewhere as he saw a familiar man and woman walk out of a just-as-familiar building.

"Mom? Dad?"

Indeed, it was Silas and Elinore Stone, Victor's parents, but…"But, they're, you're…dead!"

"Of course they are," said a voice that echoed from nowhere, one that was just as familiar as Vic's folks. "After all, they died saving you…"

As the voice spoke the scenery around them warped and changed, showing the Stones grafting the metal limbs and organs onto Vic's body, then the future Titan's horrified reaction. "They neglected treating themselves so that they could save you, and how did you thank them? You threw a damn tantrum and ran off! An' I mean, sure, _eventually_ all of you made up…but you never really got over it, did you?"

Cyborg growled, his fist clenched, then screamed, "Who _are_ you? How do you know about all this?"

Immediately a bulky figure materialized before the metal-man. He was exactly identical to Victor, only with one major difference—he was devoid of all color! He was only highlighted by black, white, and gray, like the negative of a photograph!

This didn't improve Cyborg's mood any. "Very funny. C'mon, I don't have time for this! Who are you? Some shapeshifter?"

The sepia-toned doppelganger just grinned evilly. "Man Vic, you know better. I'm your dark side! I'm all your fears, all your flaws, everythin' you hate about yourself given human form!" 

"Funny," chuckled Vic, "I figured you'd be a lot smaller…"

In reply his dark side blasted away with his Sonic Cannon. A quick energy shield protected Victor. "So where's my _light_ side? I could use a hand!"

"Ain't no light _allowed_ in Trigon's world!" exclaimed his counterpart as he continued to fire. That made Cyborg pause. Trigon and Raven _both_ had mystical ties—he figured either of them could have _easily_ given his inner darkness physical form somehow. Unfortunately for him, that didn't mean he knew how to fight it!

"What's the matter?" taunted that physical form as he watched his more balanced persona lost in thought. "Don't tell me you're psyched out already! Ya' can take a lot more pain than just _this!_"

"Yeah, I know, it's not that," said Cyborg hurriedly, almost as if it was an afterthought. "I'm just worried 'bout the others…what's Trigon putting _them_ through?"

His dark counterpart grimaced as his shoulder hatches popped open, unleashing a flurry of small-but-potent missiles. "There you go again, worryin' 'bout everybody 'cept yourself! You're gonna get yourself _killed_ that way!"

Vic leapt, propelled by the boosters on the soles of his feet, scrambling out of the way of the missiles, still hot on his tail. "And what good is it doin' ya?" asked the doppelganger as he switched to the concussive cannons in his chest. "You haven't helped anybody!"

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" growled Victor as he skidded to a stop, erecting his shield to deflect the fire, if only for a moment. "Me being a part of the Titans has saved a ton of people, stopped a lot of bad guys, not to mention I've helped out Gar, Wally…"

"All completely _pointless!_ All the time you spent doin' that distracted you from the real problems! You could've figured out what Jupiter and Raven were up to a lot sooner if you hadn't been worried 'bout everybody else! But because you wasted so much time _nobody_ stopped 'em, and now the worlds over!

"How's it feel to know you could've stopped the end of the world, Vic? Feelin' guilty?"

Vic's lip quivered, but he dug his heels into the ground and tried to ignore it. His arm folded into his Sonic Cannon as he let down his shield, taking a few shots to the chest but firing off his own attack, which sent his darker-half scrambling for shelter himself.

"I can still stop it!" countered the machine man as his shoulder popped open and he delivered _his_ arsenal. Evil-Vic this time produced his own energy shield, taking the attack without a scratch.

"Please, you're too late!" he exclaimed as he shot forward, straight towards his more balanced counterpart. Cyborg tried to dodge, but his opponent launched his hand, grabbing the Titan by the arm and pulling him in close. "You're _always_ too late!" As he screamed the dark doppelganger sank a sickening punch into Vic's gut.

"You were too late to save the world, too late to save your parents—"

"Leave them _outta_ this!" cried Victor, enraged, as he caught his rival's next punch and countered with one his own.

Vic's evil side chuckled. "Why? _Everything's_ about them, right? Everybody you 'help', every good deed, it's just you sayin', 'Please, Mommy, Daddy, please forgive me!' Well guess what Vic, they can't hear you anymore! It's pointless! You're never gonna make it right!"

Fueled by his own aggression, the evil being hit harder, faster, leaving Vic unable to react. "You're never gonna keep a girl happy either!"

He hurled a hook into Vic's face.

"You'll never really fit in anywhere!"

He kneed Cyborg in the gut.

"You're never gonna be anything other than some poor sap tryin' to cover up every little fear and insecurity you have with good deeds, never movin' forward, never getting anywhere or resolving anything, until you're just an empty shell on a dead world!

"_That's what you are, Vic! It's all you'll _ever_ be!_"

The dark doppelganger slipped behind his better half and raised both arms above his head, holding both his hands together and bringing them down on the metal-man's back, knocking him face first onto the ground. As Victor laid there his darker half stepped on his head, pushing his face further into the dirt.

Snarling, he finished by asking, "So why don't you just lie down and accept it?"

Blue flames shot from the thruster on his foot, and Vic barely managed to turn his head in time. As the fire chipped away at his more enduring metal-half, he wondered whether he was even worth saving…if everything this doppelganger was saying was somehow _true_.

And as he pondered that, feeling the flames roar against his head, he came to a much more comforting realization:

Even if it _was_ true…why did that _matter?_

"I don't care _what_ you say…" growled Victor as his hands dug into the ground. The neon hatches on his shoulders started to glow blue as his shield materialized between himself and his dark counterpart—and then suddenly expanded, pushing the two away. "I ain't givin' up!"

Boosters propelled Cyborg to his feet—as soon as he was upright he launched his hand, ensnaring his doppelganger and unleashing an electric shock that kept him immobilized.

"I'm happy, an' I'm making others happy, so I don't care about my problems!" Vic's arm retracted, and having pulled his dark side closer, he laid on hard with a powerful punch. "God, you're as bad as Sebastian! He was always tryin' to find some fault with me, but he didn't realize that I've got plenty of them—but I'm not gonna let them hold me down!"

"For now…maybe," taunted the eviler Cyborg as he gasped for air, "But how long…d'you think you can last?"

Victor Stone dropped his opponent and took a step backwards, chuckling. "For as long as I need it to! All you're tryin' to do is distract me! You're so worried about my problems that you can't look past them! You can't see the good things in life! But I can!

"Hell, if I gave in, I'd never figure anything out! I'd never be able to do anything but feel sorry for myself! But I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make sure I'm never like you!"

Suddenly the metallic Titan began to glow as brand new hatches began to open all over his body. He started to shake and hum.

"For example, instead of worrying about what you told me, I was able to figure out that if I'm arguin' with my dark side, I'm probably still inside my own head! And in here, _I_ make the rules!"

Suddenly a blazing blast of blue sonic energy shot from his whole body, barreling towards the dark doppelganger like a bullet train. His eyes wide, there was no time for him to react at all before he was completely immolated.

Vic was finally able to smile as his body transformed and returned to normal. Meanwhile, the sky behind him slowly started to glow, until it was nothing but bright white. Cyborg's body began to glow just moments later.

"Alright," said Vic, "Time to go find the others!"

*****INSIDE THE MIND OF STARFIRE, PRINCESS KORIAND'R OF TAMARAN*****

The sounds of battle raged around her. As they entered they warrior's ears, she began to stir, brought to life by the arousing sound of war. This was the stuff she was trained for all her life—to _fight_.

Starfire instantly awoke and leapt to her feet, lashing out with a Starbolt before she could even see what she was attacking. As her vision cleared and her sparkling green eyes finally took in the sights around her, though, she was shocked!

"Tamaran?"

Koriand'r's jaw nearly fell to the floor as she took in the unexpected sight of her home planet. "I am on Tamaran? How?"

Unfortunately for her, there wasn't time to find out. Several large spaceships blocked out the sky, unleashing legions of Gordanian troops into the fray. All around her she watched her Tamaranian brethren charge into battle, struggling with everything they had to win the uphill fight.

With a roar her father, the king, Myand'r, and his wife, Luand'r, leapt into battle, followed by the alien princess's younger brother, Ryand'r.

"Father! Mother!" For a moment, Kory's face was filled with joy. After she was sold to the Gordanians by her sister, Komand'r, she thought she might _never_ see her family, her home, ever again!

However, immediately that joy was replaced by fear. The Tamaranians were a proud warrior race, but as their mortal enemies, the Gordanians possessed a raw savagery unparalleled by any species in the galaxy. All around her Starfire watched her people fight a losing battle—and she just couldn't stand by and let it happen!

"Do not worry, I am here to help!"

With a scream the bronze-skinned beauty leapt forward, unleashing a potent beam of green solar energy from her palm—but it simply flew through her Gordanian opponent, as if he wasn't even there.

Without a word Koriand'r lashed into a stream of attacks on multiple opponents, but none were any more effective.

"It is too late to help them now. You have wasted too much time!"

Starfire span when she heard the voice coming from behind her, and was greeted by a dark silhouette of a familiar figure. Matched with the voice, the princess could reach only one conclusion.

"Sister?" gasped Kory, breathless, first with surprise then with slight fear. "Komand'r?"

"No." The figure stepped forward, revealing herself to be an exact replica of Princess Koriand'r herself, only monochromatic, lacking all color! "But I shall take that as a compliment!"

Wasting no time, the dark doppelganger shot forward, ensnaring her better-half in her sepia tone Starbolts. "I am your dark side, every part of you that is mean, evil, and selfish, come alive!"

"Then this is your doing?" surmised Starfire as she strafed through the rapid-fire attacks. "Why would you do this to our home?"

"You should ask _yourself_ that!" countered the dark Tamaranian. "You have known your whole life of the war between our people and the Gordanians! Hawkgirl told you of the recent escalation! Yet you still ignored it! Raven offered you a way back to Tamaran! Even the Justice League probably could have gotten you back! This is all _your_ fault!"

As if to help drive the point home, the evil alien jammed her knee into Kory's chin. She hit a weak point—and not just physically. Starfire had been feeling guilty about passing up Raven's offer already—in fact, she had been feeling guilty ever since Komand'r's ship was destroyed, cutting off all ways to get back home. Still, despite it all, she had her reasons for staying…

"Tamaran has an army!" declared Kory. "I want to help protect my home, but I cannot alone turn the tide of war! But here on Earth, my friends needed me—now, more than ever!"

"And yet it has done you no _good!_" Explosions detonated across the landscape, the land trembling with every attack fired. "Your friends have betrayed you! Trigon has _won!_"

Koriand'r tumbled across the ground, bouncing like a discarded toy, but she was far from out. She pulled herself to her feet, wiping blood from her face. "No, he has not! Raven promised us a way to win!"

Her darker side scoffed. "Raven _lied_. She lied about everything: _especially_ about being your friend! You care about her so much, even now, but she never did anything but hurt you! Right down to the very end, she lied!"

"_You_ are the liar!" cried Kory with every ounce of fury in her body. "I refuse to believe it!"

"That does not mean it is not true," quickly added the dark doppelganger with a smirk as she backhanded away her lighter side. Spinning, she pointed downwards and started carpet-bombing the ground beneath her. "Face it! You have given these humans everything and they have done nothing in return!

"Even the one you love has betrayed you!"

Her teeth gnashed, her heart raced, and before Starfire knew it, she had exploded into the air and unleashed a deadly uppercut onto her malicious opponent.

"Leave Dick _out_ of this!"

"Why _should_ I?" countered the dark doppelganger as she also physically countered Kory's attacks. "He has hurt you most of all, yes? Suddenly ignoring you, being distant and aloof for no reason…did you do something to hurt him? Or does he simply not love you anymore?

"Either way, it breaks your heart, does it not?"

"SHUT _UP_!"

This time, however, the evil alien was prepared for her opponent's anger and managed to intercept her with a point-blank blast. Starfire spiraled towards the ground, and her dark thoughts weren't far behind.

"Why? Can you not bear to hear the truth? Can you not accept that the humans you have abandoned your own people for—your so-called "friends"—have done nothing but lie to you and betray you? Can you _still_ not see that you were never truly loved? That there is nothing here worth saving?"

The Dark Starbolt still raged, pinning Koriand'r to the ground, but despite the nearly overwhelming power that threatened to tear her body to pieces, the alien princess managed to climb onto one knee.

"I refuse to give up on them," she said quietly, but even Kory wasn't sure she believed in them anymore. After all, all of this _was_ Raven's fault in the first place. Still, she wasn't letting her opponent see her weakness!

"After everything you have been through, you should never have believed in _anyone_ again!" cried Starfire's evil side as she continued her devastating assault. "When will you understand that?"

Kory's red eyebrows arched. She remembered all her sister's cruel acts towards her during childhood. She remembered how the Gordanians tortured her, experimented on her, did…even _worse_ things to her.

Maybe the dark doppelganger was right. Maybe Kory _should_ haven given up. Maybe she _should_ have lost all hope.

But there's no way Starfire can _ever_ give up hope!

Throwing her arms to the side, the alien finally mustered up the strength to negate her dark-side's attack. "I will _never_ understand it!" she cried as she shot into the air, lashing out with a remarkable display of Starbolt attacks of her own.

"Maybe I should have given up hope for people after what I have seen, but it still makes no sense to me! A few heartless, evil people do not make _everybody_ evil! Most lives still have meaning! Most people deserve to live and be loved! I cannot give up on them!"

Even as the explosive projectiles knocked about the evil Tamaranian, she still had something to add. "Why not?"

"Because then my life would have no meaning!" cried Kory, every word coming from the bottom of her heart. "After the Gordanians, everything I had was taken away from me! All I had to make me happy was the good I saw around me—the good in nature, in the world, in my friends!

"They have gotten me through the hard times, and no matter how many mistakes they have made, I believe they are good people! I will never give up on them! I will fight until Trigon is destroyed, and eventually, I will return to Tamaran and fight as well!"

The light began to fade as Starfire's body began to absorb solar power. In a few seconds the only sight visible was the fluorescent green glow of Starbolts simmering in the alien's eyes and palms.

"And now, the only thing in the way of my goal is _YOU!"_

Starfire gave it everything she had, unleashing all that power into one unparalleled blast. The dark doppelganger never even knew what hit her as she was turned to ashes—and yet, the Starbolt didn't stop there. It kept flying, eventually cracking even the sky itself.

Kory could only smile as she was enveloped in the warm white light. If only for a moment, she had won…

*****INSIDE THE MIND OF BEAST BOY, GARFIELD LOGAN*****

Garfield Logan, the green animal shapeshifter known as Beast Boy, slumped on his knees, his head hanging low in despair. His mind was now a dark prison, displaying only his worst experiences over and over.

He watched as the raft containing his parents, Mark and Marie Logan, drifted over the edge of a waterfall. Geneticists, they had been on a safari when the tragedy struck. Flapping above the rapids was a green parrot, young Gar himself, unable to do a damn _thing_ to save his parents' lives.

He watched as the Doom Patrol, his adopted family, was captured by their arch-enemies, the Brotherhood of Evil, and given an ultimatum—their lives, or the lives of an entire village of innocent people. The Doom Patrol made the only decision, and paid the ultimate price. Again, Gar was the only survivor, forbidden to go on the dangerous mission by his adopted father, Mento.

He watched as Terra committed suicide, driving a rock through her own heart to prevent herself from being controlled by Mr. Jupiter, to save her friends. Gar tried to talk her out of it, tried to tell her that she was _worth_ the risk…but she wouldn't listen. He stood by, helpless, as she needlessly killed herself.

Over and over Beast Boy was forced to watch the scenes replay in his mind, the dismal display crushing his spirits like a bug.

All-in-all, it wasn't really any different from usual.

"It's all your fault, y'know." Suddenly a small figure emerged from the shadowy recesses of the room. He was an exact duplicate of the Titan, only devoid of his green hue—or of _any_ color, for that matter. He was a dark duplicate, a physical manifestation of every self-loathing thought in the changeling's head. That made him a dangerous being indeed.

Finally looking up, Gar barely found the energy to glare at the new arrival. "Yeah dude, I _know_."

"You're the _only_ one that knows," said the doppelganger as he paced before his downtrodden counterpart. "Everybody just sees the act you put on, the little green doofus constantly cracking jokes…but it doesn't change a thing! You're still a failure, no matter how hard you try to cover it up!"

Beast Boy only sighed. "Normally I'd try to argue with you, but…but I don't even think you're wrong anymore…"

"Then for once, let's do the right thing."

The monochromatic changeling leaned, placing something into Gar's hand. It was cool and hard—it took every bit of effort in his lethargic body for Gar to see what it was.

A gun. In Garfield's hand was a gun—loaded, ready to go.

"You know they'd be happier if you weren't here," growled the evil Beast Boy, "If you weren't getting in the way, if you weren't screwing everything up…they'd still be alive if you'd done this sooner. Mom and Dad, Steve and Rita, _Tara_…

"Whose gonna be next? Are you gonna let Dick or Kory down? Are you gonna let Vic take a bullet _you_ should've? It's not gonna stop with Tara.

"You're doomed—_we're _doomed. Cursed! This crappy green skin, the animals, yeah it's cool, but its killin' everyone! You've gotta stop it, Gar! You're the only one who can!"

Garfield Logan could only stare at the gun in his hand. He felt its weight, like the weight of the people he'd let die. He wanted to get up, he wanted to argue, he wanted to believe everything he'd told Raven, but the truth was, he couldn't.

He couldn't, because he knew in his heart his dark side was right.

Trembling, he moved his hand. Slowly it worked his way to his temple, until the steel barrel was pressed against his green head. Beast Boy swallowed a lump in his throat, tearing up and trying not to think about his friends, trying not to think about the giant red monster destroying Earth.

There was nothing he could do to stop Trigon anyway. He'd only get in the way!

"That's it, dude," laughed Gar's doppelganger. "Just pull the trigger. They're waitin' for it, y'know!"

Gar stopped in his tracks, as if the breath had left his chest.

"Tara and the rest, it's your fault they're dead!" screamed the other changeling. "They deserve justice! Finish this, for them!"

Beast Boy's finger moved—his counterpart gasped in happiness, but his joy lasted only a split second. By the time the gun hit the floor, his elation had turned to fury.

Garfield Logan was on his feet—smiling!

"You almost had me," growled the Titan. "_But I'm not as stupid as I look!"_

Suddenly he was a bull, trampling through the space between the two changelings in an instant and colliding with all his might. Before his dark doppelganger could even be sent flying from the attack Gar had become a gorilla, sideswiping him with his massive arms for even more damage.

The color-less shapeshifter took the shape of a massive Tyrannosaurus Rex, but by then his opponent had already sped between his legs, retaking his human form behind him.

"I tried to save all of them, and yeah, I failed! I know that!" Beast Boy almost couldn't speak, but he had to. He couldn't quit now! "I tried to save Mom and Dad, but I didn't have control over my powers yet! They told me to run! They wanted _me _to survive instead of them!

"Mento wouldn't let me go with the Doom Patrol on that last mission! He said it wasn't safe! I was pissed cause I thought he was treatin' me like a little kid, but he was just tryin' to protect me!

"An' Tara…everything she ever _did_ was for me! I didn't deserve it, but she didn't care about herself, just me! She even said that savin' my life made her happy, even if she had to _die_ for it! All she ever wanted was for me to _live!"_

The boy seemed to be screaming even louder. "So no, I'm not killin' myself! That's not what any of 'em wanted! I'd just be letting them down!"

"Let them _down?_" Despite being in the form of a dinosaur, the dark doppelganger spoke, lashing with his massive tail at the same time. "That's all you've ever done! Why stop now?"

However, by the time his attack landed, his better half had disappeared. Taking the form of the miniscule hummingbird, he dashed above his massive opponent's head—then, taking the form of a behemoth, the blue whale, he fell upon that same head!

The ground crumbled as Dark Gar took a face plant.

"Because my friends need me!" answered Gar. "I don't have too many important people left, and that crappy Trigon monster's out there right now doing who knows what to 'em! Maybe I can't do much to help, but I can't let my friends down!

"Even if I do screw up…wouldn't it be even dumber to just give up? Like I said, I'm not that stupid!"

Growing, the sepiatoned monster became something even more frightening—a massive dragon, flames billowing from its mouth, incinerating his better half in the blistering heat.

"Yes you _are!_" he cried. "You can't help them!"

Suddenly a small form burst through the flames. Spinning, the green, armored Ankylosaurous shrank into the skinny, tiny green boy in purple and black tights.

"Maybe," he growled, "But no way am I giving up!"

Taking a deep breath, he screamed and hurled a vicious uppercut into the mythical creature's chin. Backed—not by the power of any animal—but by his very convictions, it was exactly what he needed. The darkness inside the Titan took one, two, three steps backwards before exploding into nothingness.

Meanwhile, the tiny Titan landed, falling to his knees for a moment as he tried to catch his breath. "Man," he gasped, "I'm glad _that's _over…"

All around him, the black skies, which formerly showed nothing but Garfield Logan's greatest failures, began to shine brighter than any star. The tiny Titan watched in disbelief as his parents, with no fear of their own deaths, watched their young son fly above them, nothing but relief on their faces.

He watched as his adopted mother, Rita—Elasti-Girl—kissed him goodbye, as the Doom Patrol embarked on what would be their final mission.

And he watched as Tara actually _smiled_ despite her imminent suicide.

Then the images finally faded away as the shining light enveloped the green superhero. Wiping a tear from his cheek, Beast Boy still couldn't hold back a wistful smile.

"Thanks, you guys," he said. "Thanks for never giving up on me…"

*****INSIDE THE MIND OF WONDER GIRL, DONNA TROY*****

As Donna Troy came to her senses, it took her only a second to realize she was surrounded. She cursed her luck—after everything that had happened, one event right after another, it seemed like every step forward was followed by two steps back. Had she really escaped Trigon only to be surrounded by a new enemy?

How _did_ she escape Trigon, anyway?

She didn't have time to think about it. Trained as a warrior, she knew the immediate threat had to be dealt with first. Leaping to her feet, she took a martial arts stance and pivoted towards the nearest opponent—

And was faced with herself.

"Hera!" cried the adopted Amazon as she stared at her mirror reflection. This doppelganger's every feature was identical, but her fashion sense certainly didn't follow suit. She wore a coat of armor, intricately detailed, with an ancient Roman helmet. She held a shield in her left hand, and the palm of her right hand rested uneasily on the hilt of her sheathed sword.

"Donna Troy is an Amazon," growled the warrior double.

Unsure what to do, Wonder Girl span toward the next threat—and was instantly greeted by another duplicate! This version of the terrified Titan was dressed in a red strapless top emblazoned by a golden "W" logo, blue star-spangled trunks, knee-high red and white boots, and a golden tiara—the outfit that belonged to her older sister, Wonder Woman!

"Donna Troy is a super-hero," smiled the duplicate as she pulled her lasso taut in her hands.

Afraid to find out what she'd be faced with next, she pivoted anyway—and this time found her clone wearing an expensive Italian suit. A similarly dressed man stood beside her, and both held tommy-guns in their hands. They sat on a pile of money, while dead bodies strewn the ground around them.

"Donna Troy is the daughter of a criminal."

Barely moving, it only took a second for Donna to be confronted by another aspect of herself—this one in a trendy dress and high heels, walking happily, arm-in-arm with Kyle Rayner.

"Donna Troy is a trophy."

The next Donna was dressed in Deathstroke's black and brown armor, minus his telltale mask. In one hand she held a bloodied sword—in the other, the decapitated head of Terry Long.

"Donna Troy is a murderer."

Another duplicate quickly flanked her—this one wore nothing at all! Draped seductively over the similarly naked body of Roy Harper, she kissed his neck.

"Donna Troy is a whore."

"_Enough!_" cried Wonder Girl. She span, lashing out with her lasso like it was a whip. The mystical lariat, sparking electricity like a downed power line, tore through the various Donna Troys, instantly demolishing them. It was like they were never even there.

Even with the repugnant images gone, the Titan wasn't satisfied. She gritted her teeth as tears rolled down her cheeks. The last thing she needed were her fears thrown in her face!

"Show yourself!" she cried with every ounce of anger she had. "Whoever you are, show yourself now! I'm sick of this game!"

Only a moment later a gray figure plummeted from the sky, landing with a thud before Wonder Girl. She rose, a monochromatic, lifeless copy of Donna Troy, this time identical down to every detail.

"It's not a game," said the devious doppelganger with a sly smile. "It's your life, and I'd say it's more of a tragedy."

"Who are you?" demanded Donna, more and more lightning flaring from her weapon as her anger built.

Suddenly the grayscale Amazon burst forward in am impressive display of speed, snagging her opponent in her lasso. As she dragged her forward across the battlefield, colorless lightning exploded from the rope.

"I'm the darkness within you, Ms. Troy," laughed the dark double as she dragged her better half behind her. "I'm every doubt you've had, every condescending thought you've harbored, every dumb mistake you've ever made—"

"I get it already!" cried Donna as she grabbed hold of her opponent's lasso and pulled. Her footing gone, the dark doppelganger soared towards her light counterpart, and was greeted with a knee to the stomach.

Following up with a two-handed strike to the back, Donna sent her opponent falling face first to the ground. "I'm tired of everybody telling me what a horrible person I am!"

Though down, the evil Amazon was far from out. She swept a leg, knocking Wonder Girl's feet from beneath her. "You're not a person at all!" she cried as she leapt to her feet. "You're just a bunch of abstract ideas! You don't know which one is you! None of them are!"

Leaping into the air, she jutted one elbow before her and attempted to pile drive her fallen foe, but at the last second Donna rolled out of the way, transferring her momentum into a somersault and spinning to her feet.

"Enough!" commanded the adopted Amazon. "I know who I am!"

In response, Wonder Girl was greeted by a fist soaring towards her face. The

Titan barely managed to cross her arms, blocking the assault before deflecting it by throwing her arms to the side.

"Then tell me," taunted her evil counterpart, "Who are you? That's why you came here, isn't it? You joined the Titans to find out all about yourself, right? What did you find?"

Sweat poured from Donna's body. She was fighting back with everything she had in her—with her words as well as her powers. But despite her brave act, she didn't have an answer—despite everything she'd been through, everything she'd found out, she knew even less about herself than she had when she _started_.

This only served to _piss Donna off_!

Leaping into the air, she span, delivering a blindingly fast roundhouse kick right towards her dark duplicate's head, but by raising her forearm she easily deflected the attack. She instantly followed up with a punch that sent Wonder Girl reeling, her body bouncing across the landscape.

"You don't even know who you _want_ to be, do you?" accused the pale powerhouse as she burst forward. "You want to be a hero, but you're scared of the Amazon and the criminal—the _killer_—inside of you! And face it, desperate or not, we _both_ know you wanted to kill Deathstroke!"

Before Donna Troy could even recover she'd already been knocked off her feet by her dark doppelganger flying straight into her stomach like a battering ram. "And yet when you wanted to kill, you were held back by morals! Don't you see what a contradiction you are?"

Wonder Girl hit the ground like a boulder. Wiping blood from her mouth, she slowly pushed herself onto one knee, but she didn't like how things were shaping up. The sky flashed and the ground shook as her evil twin stretched her lasso, smiling wickedly.

"You don't belong on Themyscara! You don't belong in Man's World either! You _certainly_ don't belong on the Teen Titans or the JLA! Face it, you're better off dead! You certainly wouldn't drive away anymore friends that way! You wouldn't lose anymore boyfriends that way!"

Donna bit her lip, holding herself back from making another rash move—it would only be playing right into her opponent's plans. Instead she wrapped the golden cords of her lasso tight around her hand, gripping it like she planned to never let go. Finally, she spoke.

"I may never stop blaming myself, but deep inside, I know Terry's death isn't my fault," stated the adopted Amazon with a newfound calm and clarity. "If I could, I'd go back and change it—I'd save Terry. Hera, I'd change a _lot_ of things. I wouldn't have been so rude. I'd have been a better friend, I'd have been a better _leader_.

"But I can't change things—I can't change anything but _myself_. I've learned from all of this! I think I've finally found my answer!"

Screaming, the dark doppelganger tossed her lasso, sending her bolt of gray lightning snaking forth at unfathomable speed. "Like _Hades_ you have!"

Donna stood her ground, ducking beneath the brunt of the electrical assault and reaching into the remainder, grabbing the edge of the rope and twisting it in with her own, the original. Immediately the lightning dissipated.

Finally showing fear, Donna's worse half tried to pull her opponent to her, but the Teen Titan didn't budge an inch. Instead, with her other hand she started to spin her lasso. Channeling strength from her counterpart's rope, a fantastic display of yellow and gray filled the sky.

"I'm not just an Amazon!" cried Wonder Girl. "I'm not just a super-hero, or a criminal's daughter either! I'm _all_ of those things! My mistake was believing I had to be defined as one or the other, when in truth, _all_ the parts of my past make me who I am!

"Only I can choose who I become, and I'm sick of spending all my time worrying about the past! It doesn't matter anymore! All that matters it the present! I'm a Teen Titan, and my friends need my help! Trigon has to go down, now!"

Despite herself, Donna's dark duplicate laughed. "Take down _Trigon?_ Just who do you think you _are?_"

Disappearing in a blinding burst of speed, Wonder Girl immediately ensnared her opponent within her lasso and its blinding fusion of power, leaving her immobilized from its electric shock.

"_I'm Donna Troy, bitch!"_

With one final punch backed by every iota of her Amazonian might, Donna tore through her dark tormenter, leaving nothing but a foul stench in the air. She landed with a triumphant thud, finally smiling for perhaps the first time since the death of Terry.

The room's chaotic atmosphere calmed as a door of intense white appeared before her. Tying her lasso back onto her belt, the Titan spent only another second wiping away her sweat before approaching the exit.

"Trigon," she growled, "You're next!"

*****INSIDE THE MIND OF ROBIN, DICK GRAYSON*****

"_Get up!"_

A harsh voice—somehow both a raspy whisper and a harsh scream at the same time—sounded in Dick Grayson's ear and startled the acrobat out of a dead slumber. Leaping into the air from pure fright, he quickly regained his senses and somersaulted, landing on his feet.

"Okay, okay, I'm up! Shit, what do you—" Robin was cut off in mid-sentence as he finally took notice of the figure before him. Dressed in gray body armor and hidden beneath a black cloak, with a black cowl and pointed ears, he was the dark knight, the Batman himself!

Despite whatever differences they'd had in the past, the Titan was relieved to see the Justice Leaguer. "Holy fucking shit, you showed up right on time!" he exclaimed happily. "Hell, I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but we could really use your help! Y'see, there's this monster, this _Trigon_ guy, and—"

"I know all about Trigon!" exclaimed Batman—who was suddenly leaping through the air, covering the distance between him and his young opponent in a split-second. "And I know you and your pathetic friends can't beat him!"

Crossing his arms, Dick blocked a kick from above, and used the momentum to leap backwards, out of the caped crusader's range. "Ugh," he groaned, "Is this about all my wasted potential again? Don't you realize how goddamn _old_ that's getting?"

"Potential?" Batman scoffed indignantly as he lashed out with a Batarang. "That ship's sailed! You've already lost! None of you have what it takes to take on Trigon!"

"Bullshit!" countered Robin in his usual elegant style as he unfurled his staff and leapt into the air. Spinning, he batted aside his opponent's projectile and struck the Leaguer himself in the side. The vigilante winced, and Dick used this opportunity to knock his legs out from beneath him with a sweeping low kick.

Dick chuckled. "Seriously though, bullshit on all of this. First of all, Batman's a _much_ better fighter than that. Second, Batman's _all about_ this potential shit—as big of a jackass as he is, he thinks I'm some sorta fighting god, so you've got that all wrong too. And third…

"Batman totally doesn't snarl like that. Have you even _heard_ the guy talk before? If you think you're intimidating me imitatin' Batman, then you're a dumbass, dumbass!"

Despite the brutal beatdowns—both physical _and_ verbal—Batman only smiled as he rose to his feet. Instantly the color drained from his body as he changed shape, shrinking into an exact duplicate of Dick Grayson, a dark doppelganger like his teammates had faced!

Robin raised an eyebrow. "That's a bit better, but you've still got the color all wrong."

"Really? I thought this was right," said his counterpart with a snarl. "Isn't 'dark' what you're all about now?"

"Nah," replied Dick, refusing to take the bait, "That shitty phase is officially over!"

Quickly brushing his hands past his utility belt, the acrobat of concentrated evil unleashed a handful of Redbird boomerangs. "Over too late! Your mini-Batman shit hurt Donna! It pissed off our little clone!

"But worst of all, you drove away Kory!"

One skilled swing of his staff deflected the red and yellow boomerangs, and Robin leapt into the air, again falling from above with the metal pole, ready to wreak havoc.

"Yeah, I did, but that's none of your fucking business!"

Suddenly Robin's staff was met by an identical weapon—behind it the dark doppelganger smirked, still fully confident he could crush his better half's confidence. "You loved her, didn't you? You, Dick Grayson, ladies man extraordinaire, fell in fucking _love_—and she _dumped_ you!"

Dick struggled as their staffs pushed against each other, neither fighter gaining any advantage. Sweat poured down the Titan's forehead, but if his opponent's taunts were wearing at his morale, he had yet to show any signs of it.

"Hell, I guess I do love Kory," he said with a wistful sigh, "But don't make fun of that! I love the ladies, but I'd give 'em all up forever to be with Kory!

"But I fucked things up with her, so maybe that'll never happen! And y'know what—it fucking sucks! But I'm a big boy, and I'm not gonna sit here and cry about it while some forty-foot tall red moose is blowing my planet apart!"

Grunting, the duplicate's eyebrows furrowed in frustration. Shifting his weight, he threw his left leg into a powerful kick that shattered Robin's staff and landed square in the center of his chest. With his breath nearly knocked out of him, the acrobat stumbled backwards, still gripping tightly onto the severed halves of his weapon.

"You really think you can take Trigon, don't you?" Robin's evil twin was in disbelief. "Don't you realize you're helpless? You're just a normal guy on a team of goddamn robots and aliens taking on a monster of pure darkness! You're helpless! Just like with Dr. Light, you can't do a fucking thing!"

Spinning, the monochrome menace lashed out with an explosive disc. Robin barely reacted as boosters activated in his boots, propelling him high into the air over the deadly attack.

"If you were really me, you'd know all your talking isn't doin' shit to me!" cried the acrobat as he tossed one half of his staff. His dark double flinched, but quickly realized that Robin's aim was off—the shattered weapon struck the ground in front of him!

However, Robin's counterpart was in for the surprise of his life as the staff bounced, flinging itself into his unguarded stomach! Blood spurted from his open mouth as he grabbed his stomach in pain.

"Escrima, bitch," taunted Dick as he fell from the sky, spinning and shattering the other half of his weapon against the side of his opponent's head. "See? I'm not stoppin'! I've wasted too much time doubtin' myself already—and like you said, it gave me nothin' but trouble!

"I'm not worried about my place on the team anymore—I know I'm not lettin' my teammates down! As long as I'm alive, I ain't giving up, and I'm making sure the Teen Titans don't either!"

Dick's sepia-toned double saw his better half swinging into a punch and immediately crossed his arms to block—only the attack never landed. Stopping only inches away from his opponent's face, the Titan held in his hand a flash disc—which immediately burst into a blinding display of light.

Staggering backwards, the dark doppelganger suddenly felt a foot fly into his gut. Giving it everything he had he span, lashing out blindly with his staff in a frantic effort to keep Dick away. Unfortunately for him, the effort was futile, as the agile Titan dove beneath the attack, tumbling forward, then springing into the air on his hands, driving both his feet into the duplicate's chin!

The evil teen was sent spinning through the air, spiraling half a dozen times before landing face first several feet away from his better half. But even then, the hate and malice in his heart weren't gone.

"Cocky…bastard…" he complained.

"Hell _yeah_!" exclaimed Robin, looming over his downed opponent. "I'm Dick _fucking_ Grayson! I can do _anything!_"

That last display of bravado was the final straw—it wasn't Robin's fighting skill that finished off his opponent, but his sheer _will_. He was done with doubts and worries. If he couldn't have confidence in himself and the rest of the team, then who _would?_

In a flash of dazzling light the duplicate vanished, and only seconds later the environment around them followed suit.

"So _he_ was the darkness inside of me?" asked Robin to himself as he started to vanish into the light. "_Damn_ he was lame. So glad I'm done with that shit!"

*****ON THE AIR*****

*****TITANS ISLAND. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

"Indeed, the privilege you have received even just from hearing me speak is far too high for one of your miserable species. Die."

The words left Trigon's mouth in a deep, soul-shaking growl. The monster—red, forty feet tall with hoofed feet, massive horns and four soulless eyes—squinted as his eyes lit up red with deadly energy.

Below, Lilith Clay was on her knees, shaking. She thought it was the end. She was just a simple telepath. She was prepared to take on Mr. Jupiter, but nothing prepared her for the abomination that was _Trigon_!

Suddenly, five pillars of black energy burst into the air.

Leaping onto her feet, Lilith span to see the energy—very similar to that of the departed Raven's Soul Self—shooting from the five stone statues of the defeated Teen Titans!

Hope finally flashed into Lilith's heart. _'Are they…are they _alive_?'_

The stone started to crack, with white light seeping through the new holes. Soon the black energy had all changed color, filling the stark, apocalyptic landscape with five breathtaking points of pure energy.

With a resounding boom the statues exploded—the light was gone, but in its place were the Teen Titans! As stunned and confused as Lilith, they all stood still for a split second, silent in disbelief.

Then they realized where they were, what had _happened!_

"We're alive!" exclaimed Garfield Logan as he fell to his knees and kissed the ground. "Earth, I've never missed ya' so much, even if ya' _are_ all stone and lava-y!"

"Dick, you are alive!" Robin suddenly had Starfire latched around him.

"Yeah," he coughed, squirming in her iron grip, "I guess I am."

"Hera, we're _all_ alive…" marveled Wonder Girl.

Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "But…_how?_"

_Cyborg: "I mean, last thing I remember I was fightin' some sorta dark double who said he was all the evil inside of me—and before that the whole world was turnin' to stone! Was…was it all some sorta twisted _test_?"_

_ Starfire: "I do not care how we survived, all that matters is that we have! I will let no guilt, no worries, no opponent hold me back! I have come to see this world as my home, and I will defend it from any threat, even Trigon!"_

_ Beast Boy: "I almost _didn't_ survive. I met my dark side, and like I thought, I hated the guy. He almost beat me, but I'm tired of hatin' myself! So many times I've wanted to give up, but that's not gonna help anybody! I may just be a green kid who can turn into animals, but I'm not gonna run away!"_

_ Wonder Girl: "Whatever happened, I figured out a lot about myself and who I am, _finally_. I've come to terms with my past, and I'm ready to move on with my future—for better or for worse. I've got a lot of things to do and a lot of people to apologize to, but before I can do any of that, I've got to make sure we take that monster down!"_

_ Robin: "Alright, there's no holdin' us back! It's the end of the world, so all there's left to do is fight! Trigon looks unbeatable, but if we believe that then it really _is_ all over! No f-ing way I'm letting that happen! We're beating Trigon, now!"_

"Insignificant humans." Suddenly the Titans were snapped back into reality by the booming voice of Trigon the Terrible. "Whatever respite my daughter's foolish promise granted you is brief and pointless. Your existence is repulsive to me. Begone."

_Starfire: "Raven's promise? Wait, is that…"_

The Titans had no time to figure out what the clue meant, though, because before the words had even left Trigon's mouth he had launched his attack. A massive beam of crimson death leapt from the monster's four eyes, searing the very ground where the Titans stood.

The earth-shook and the ground shattered as the blast tore through the planet, barreling straight through and emerging from the other side in a tremendous explosion! The ground lurched as lava rushed forward to fill the hole and the planet fell even closer to complete collapse.

"A deserving fate for such vermin."

"Holy f-ing s-, we're alive!"

Even Trigon was surprised as he turned to see the six Teen Titans standing just outside the radius of the blast, unharmed!

_Beast Boy: "Man, I thought we were goners! But then, just as everything went red, I felt this crazy breeze go by, and then we were over here all of a sudden!"_

Next to the Titans, however, was a new figure. He was a tall, skinny boy in a full body costume. The torso and sleeves were yellow with red gloves—a belt of red lightning crossed his waist, and the leggings were red with yellow boots. A red lightning bolt emblazoned his chest, and a cowl covered the bottom of his head, with red wing-tips on the sides. The top of the cowl was open, revealing a full head of red hair.

Still moving at ridiculous speeds, the boy skidded to a stop, leaving a trail of smoke coming from his feet. Lightning sparked from his costume, which glowed so bright it was almost alive.

"No way!" gasped Gar. "It can't be!"

"Wally?" exclaimed Koriand'r. "Is that really you?"

"Sure is," smiled Wally West as he gave his former teammates a thumbs-up. "But, at least for today…I'm Speed again!"

Next time: Raven's Gift

OOC: Holy crap, Wally's back! But…for any of you Wally West fans out there upset that he didn't get his own kickass one-on-one fight with _his_ dark side, I just want to say that I feel you. Hold on tight until next chapter! Wally's going to get something just as cool!


	26. Raven's Gift

OOC: Man, if I ever write in italics again, it will be too soon! Anyway, I put a lot of work into this, so please, let me know what you think! You guys are awesome, hope to hear from you!

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and are owned by DC Comics.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 26: Raven's Gift**

**ROLE CALL:**

**Robin—**Dick Grayson: Arrogant former circus star, acrobat extraordinaire and hopeful ladies man.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Adopted sister of Wonder Woman, bestowed with the powers of the Amazons.

**Speed—**Wally West: Chosen by the Speed Force to be the fastest teen alive!

**Cyborg—**Victor Stone: Half flesh, half machine—all human.

**Beast Boy—**Garfield Logan: Goofy, insecure animal shapeshifter and former member of the Doom Patrol.

**Starfire—**Princess Koriand'r: Pure-hearted alien powerhouse.

**Omen—**Lilith Clay: Telepath and precognitive searching for her parents.

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

*****A FEW MOMENTS AGO*****

*****OFF THE AIR—WITHIN THE SPEED FORCE*****

_This place makes no sense. There's no horizon, no ground, nothing but swirling lights giving me a headache. But if I close my eyes and ignore all that, something feels…right, as much as I hate to admit it. Like _this_ is where I belonged all along._

_ I suppose that would make some sense—it's not like I've ever fit in anywhere _else_._

_ But still, to feel more at home in the _Speed Force_ of all places? That's discouraging._

_ My name is Wally West._

_ Once, I was a monster, made up of nothing but this place's energy, and angry as _hell_ about it._

_ But now? Now I just might be the fastest man alive!_

_ Not that that'll do me any good if I can't get outta here—but I don't feel trapped, like Uncle Barry said he did when _he_ came here. Yeah, it feels like the Speed Force wants me, but like it wants me to _do_ something!_

_ Barry once said something about this, about some theory he'd heard that the Speed Force chose who it granted power to. I brushed him off, but now I think that maybe he's right. It sure would explain why I got my super-speed back despite getting my body back too!_

_ Man, but if that's true, then it means when Barry tried to save me from that bolt of lightning, it really _was_ his fault that I lost my body! God, I should be furious, but…but, I've already wasted too much time hating him. I'm sick of it!_

_ Hell, the only reason I even joined the Teen Titans was to trash him on TV and try to tell everybody what a jerk he was, when the only jerk around was _me_. Not just Barry, but everybody who ever tried to help me I put down and ignored, treated like dirt. I was too busy feeling sorry for myself._

_ It's pretty scary, actually, the way I acted. Did losing my body change my personality, change something important about me, or was it really just that I couldn't handle it?_

_ God, I hope it's the first. It's _pathetic_ to think I fold this badly under pressure._

_ No point dwelling in the past, though. I've got my body back, my sanity back, my _family_ back, and apparently my powers back too!_

_ Of course, by the time I realized this I'd beaten up some jerk at school, managing to turn the entire freaking _place_ against me! Man, to tell the truth, I don't know if I even wanna go _back_ to that hellhole. _

_ All I wanted to _be_ was _normal_! Go to school, get a job, have a girlfriend, get married, have a family…but why? Was it just because I _couldn't_ at the time? Or was it Mom and Dad driving their stupid agenda into my brain over and over like pounding a nail into a wall?_

_ The more I think about it, the more I remember a time when my only dream was to become a _super-hero_. I just wanted to get outta Blue Valley and have adventures and save lives…where did it all go so wrong? When Mom and Dad finally broke my spirit and convinced me that there was no such _thing_ as dreams? Or when my dream came _true_ and I didn't even realize it?_

_ Seriously though, what was I _thinking_? High school? After being in the Titans, going back to high school was like leaving _college_ to…go back to high school…_

_ Okay, piss-poor analogy, but you get my point._

_ Of course, even if the Titans would _take_ me back—and I'm not saying I'm gonna rejoin, mind you—there's still the matter of _Raven_._

_ Lord, that bitch makes my blood boil! No matter how warped my thinking was, I know she was never nothing but bad news! I never want to _see_ her again!_

_ Yet, scarily enough…I think a part of me still _loves_ her…_

_ Even if that love isn't real, even if she forced it on me, it's still there somehow, dammit. What am I supposed to do?_

_ There I go again. Good ol' "Waffling Wally"! I never know _what _to do!_

_ But I tell you one thing: I spent my entire time in that stupid tower going back and forth and never making up my mind, and it did nothing but drive everybody, _me_ included, up a wall! I'm gonna make a choice, and I'm gonna stick to it!_

_ So I focus on that tower, and finally this place starts to make sense! Everything around me downshifts, and despite the fact that I never stopped running, only now can I feel something beneath my feet._

_ Good-bye, Speed Force—Hello, Earth!_

_ Lightning flashes around me like I'm that stupid DeLorian from that one time travel movie. For a second I fall onto one knee, gasping for breath. Before running was effortless, but now that I have a body, this all takes some work!_

_ It feels like an eternity as I wait to get my breath back, but I know it's only been a few seconds—time works differently when I'm using my super speed, though I think this is the first time I've ever really noticed it. I open my eyes, not knowing what to expect, or where the Speed Force decided to spit me out, but—_

Good Lord!

_ What—what happened to Earth? Is this even Earth at all? The ground, the buildings…are nothing but stone. I run like hell until I reach a lake—which is nothing but a pool of lava!_

_ Is this _Hell?_ Or is it something even _worse_? My stomach churns, and somehow I know there's more than meets the eye to all of this. As much as I'm in the dark, something feels frustratingly familiar about this whole mess._

_ I don't know why, but it pisses me off._

_ Suddenly I spy the Eiffel Tower in the distance. So I'm in France? Then is this only happening here—some forgotten Commie Tech gone wrong or something? Or does it have nothing to do with _anything_?_

_ I never thought I'd say this, but thank God I have super speed! Sonic booms explode behind me as I break the sound barrier, hitting the Atlantic Ocean before I could even begin to get my bearings._

_ Of course, the ocean's nothing but a sea of lava now, but by the time I realized how dangerous that was, I was already half-way across! My feet hit the magma at super speed—I'm moving so fast there isn't even time for it to burn me._

_ By the time I hit the beach I'm already focused on my destination—but suddenly I have to shift attention to actually watching where I'm going! Damn, running now is a lot different from before, and it's not just the actual exercise involved._

_ Before I was nothing but a phantom. I was barely even _running_—I could just shoot through anything in my way like a beam of light or something. But now I have to keep my eyes open, swerve past cars, dodge people—if there's even a point to it anymore. Everybody's statues now—are they even alive anymore? Is it even possible to turn them back?_

_ Fortunately, I don't have time to dwell on it—Keystone's already coming into view! If anybody could survive this, Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris could! They'll know what's going on—they _have_ to!_

_ But then I see him…the Flash, my Uncle Barry, a statue like all the others…frozen in mid-stride. God, look at his face—he was trying to stop this. And next to him, Bart too._

_ Good Lord, if the Flash and Impulse weren't fast enough to stop this, what can _I _do?_

_ Suddenly I remember a trick of Uncle Barry's from back when we fought. I take off towards their house, vibrating my molecules, hoping like hell this works—cause if it doesn't, I'll be running face-first into a stone wall!_

_ I'll still never understand exactly how that little trick works, and I bet any of my teachers' heads would explode trying to, but it sure as hell_ does _work, as I find out when I manage to vibrate my molecules through the wall and straight into Aunt Iris's living room!_

_ I don't know what I was expecting to find. That Aunt Iris had somehow survived when nobody else had? I know it doesn't make any sense, but I just wanted to find her_ alive_ in there! But no, dammit, no! She's a statue too!_

_ My stomach only hurts worse, and it takes everything I have not to throw up all over the floor. Maybe I'm just delirious, going into shock, hell, maybe I'm just losing my goddamn _mind_—_again—_but only one word keeps coming into my mind._

Raven.

_ I really _am_ going crazy. Everything's going to Hell and all I can think of is _Raven_? Dammit, am I ever gonna get that bitch outta my head? But…no. The more I think about it, the more I realize…this isn't like before. It's like I can just _feel_ it…_

_ This _feels_ like Raven!_

_ In a flash I vibrate through the wall and back into the street. There's only one place left to go: Titans Tower!_

_ They're probably statues too, I tell myself. If Uncle Barry couldn't survive, there's no _way_ the Titans could have. But maybe…maybe I'm tired of putting them down. God, I can't believing I'm saying this, but I sure hope the other Titans made it! They could be our last hope!_

_ It's ironic. It's _frustrating_ as _Hell_. I finally start to get my head on straight, finally start to figure out just what I'm supposed to do, and now the entire world might just be gone!_

_ This isn't the first time I've thought the world was out to get me, but I think it's the first time where I might just be proven _right_._

_ But despite it all, something about this…something actually feels kinda _good_. I might just be the last guy alive on Earth. I'm gonna find the guy who did this, and I'm gonna make him pay. Maybe I'll win…maybe I'll die._

_ Either way, I'll finally be a _hero_._

_ Suddenly lightning explodes around me again, the Speed Force nearly engulfing me. God, it must _like_ the idea of me dying a hero! Figures. For a split second, it feels like my body is fading away, but that's just me being paranoid again._

_ Instead, it seems like the Speed Force…gave me a _costume_! _

_ That's helpful._

_ A costume of pure energy, covering my entire body, nothing but bright yellow. Jeez, just because I'm Speed again doesn't mean I need to look like a monster again too. So I concentrate, and, believe it or not, the suit follows my commands._

_ About time somebody listened to me._

_ The ends of the sleeves split into gloves, changing colors. My pants change colors, a belt and boots split off, and a red lighting bolt sparks across my chest. Energy shatters as eye and mouth holes form on my face. I even throw in those stupid, nerdy wingtip things on the side of my head, just for the hell of it._

_ After all, if the Flash is really dead, then I have to carry on his legacy _somehow_._

_ But still, something's not right. It only takes me a second to figure out. Surprising even myself, I smile as the suit again shatters, losing the energy that was covering the top of my head and letting my hair show through the top of the cowl._

_ If he manages to survive, Bart's gonna complain that I stole his style, but I don't care. I went too long without a body to look like a monster again!_

_ Suddenly I see the tower, and…and…_

_ Good lord, I was _never_ a monster. Not compared to _that_ thing! The thing's massive, red, horned, his eyes glowing like the freaking _sun_…_

_ I'm _fucked.

_ But just as I'm about to give up hope, I see them. Dick, Kory, Vic, Donna, Gar…they're alive? They're alive!_

_ But where's Raven?_

_ Don't tell me…god, why did I have to be right? Why now?_

_ I knew Raven was a bitch. I knew she was cold, but…I never thought she would _destroy the world!_ It hits like a punch in the gut, cause like I said…somewhere deep inside, I still love that girl. I swear, she's gonna drive me insane one day._

_ That's only if we survive, though, and suddenly, those odds don't look so good! The monster is firing a massive beam from his eyes, heading straight for the Titans—and suddenly I'm doing Mach 5 and counting._

_ I can't let the Titans die! They're the world's only hope! And, well…hell, I can't believe I'm gonna admit this…but they're my _friends._ Maybe the only ones I have._

_ So one by one I scoop them up, moving them out of the range of the monster's attack. Even with my speed, I only escape by a hair's width. Whoever this guy is, his strength is off the scale! He makes Blood look like Dr. Light!_

_ But I turn around to face him anyway._

_ My name's Wally West._

_ For the moment, I'm the fastest man alive._

_ I'm _Speed_._

_ And now, my friends and I are all that stand between this monster and the end of the Earth as we know it. Those are bad odds, I know, but I'm tired of complaining, and tired of running away. _

_ I'm gonna take this guy down…or die trying!_

*****NOW *****

********* ON THE AIR****—TITANS ISLAND. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

The Earth shook and nearly collapsed in on itself as Trigon's attack speared it, impaling the planet like a toothpick through an olive. The six remaining Teen Titans—the only surviving members of the Earth's population—were in the beam's sights, and should have been reduced to nothingness.

Instead, thanks to the sudden unexpected appearance of an old friend, they were fine, scattered only a few feet from the massive, smoking crater!

"Wally?" exclaimed Koriand'r. "Is that really you?"

Lightning sparked from the glowing yellow and red costume wore by the super-fast redhead. Smoke poured from the trail left in his wake. Finally looking up, the teen surprised his former teammates—he smiled!

"Sure is," replied Wally West as he gave his friends a thumbs-up. "But, at least for today…I'm Speed again!"

"Wonderful!" Immediately Starfire was latched around the speedster's body, greeting him with an enthusiastic hug. "I am so happy to see you!"

_Starfire: "Finally! After all the horrible things that have happened to us today, the return of a friend was just what I needed!"_

"Dude," marveled Gar Logan, "Nice threads!" Patting his teammate on the back, the changeling was startled by a spark of static electricity arcing from the living costume. Yelping, he leapt backwards, only to immediately blush.

_Beast Boy: "Great, a smart aleck costume. Just what I needed."_

However, Victor Stone—while certainly happy to see the return of his friend—had more urgent questions. "Wally? But I thought you _lost_ your powers? And how did you survive the petrification wave?"

Wally sighed. "It's...it's a long story..."

_Speed: "If you want to know the truth, I don't think my powers ever really went away. I think...I think I just _thought_ they went away because I _wanted_ them to so badly!"_

Still, the speedster had questions of his own. "Petrification wave? Is _that_ what happened here? Just what exactly _is_ going on here? And where's Raven?"

The Titans didn't know how to answer that. "Man, you think _your_ story is long..." was all Cyborg could manage to answer.

"There's no time to share stories!" exclaimed Lilith as she dashed into the center of the group, moving as quickly as she could in stiletto heels. "So allow _me_ to fill you in!"

"And who's _she_?" added Wally angrily, growing frustrated at the abundance of unexplained events.

Keeping silent, Lilith Clay closed her eyes, and suddenly a vision of events was thrust into the mind's eyes of the six Teen Titans. Wally West's day in school and his subsequent trip to the Speed Force played out in the eyes of his friends, but the speedster himself saw a much bleaker story as the death of Terra and the betrayals of Mr. Jupiter and Raven unfolded inside his mind.

It took only a moment for Lilith, a telepath, to connect the Titans' minds and share their stories, and by the time that moment ended Wally had fallen to his knees.

"Good Lord!" he cried, trembling, his eyes wide in shock. "R-R...Raven? She—she did _this_?"

_Wonder Girl: "That's right, I forgot that Wally was in love with her...even if he doesn't want to be, and even if he can't stand her, Hera, this must have come as a bigger blow to him than to _any_ of us!"_

_Speed: "Something in my gut told me Raven was involved in this, but I didn't wanna believe it. Even when I got here, even when I saw she wasn't with the others, I didn't think it would be _this_ bad! She—she was _never_ on our side? And now she's _dead_? God, this just keeps getting worse..."_

"Insignificant insects." The Earth shook and the deep, booming voice of Trigon the Terrible grabbed the attention of the Teen Titans — as it well should have. "My daughter's actions are irrelevant. She was never on your side. She never existed as anything but a portal allowing me to again step from dimension to dimension. She was a portal, not a person."

Seething, Speed crawled to his feet, gnashing his teeth and cursing under his breath. "Bastard."

Starfire wasn't so restrained.

"You are a monster!" cried the alien princess at the top of her lungs as she let loose with a massive Starbolt. The beam of green energy soared from her hands and detonated on Trigon's chest like a megaton bomb, but, unsurprisingly, the massive monster didn't flinch.

"Do you not understand how useless your resistance is?" Trigon's eyes began to light up crimson. "I am Trigon the Terrible, the source of all darkness, and nothing can stand up to my might. Whole worlds, whole universes crumble before me. What chance do you children think you have?"

"What the f- is wrong with you?"

Dick Grayson, the acrobat known as Robin, stood defiantly, squaring off eye-to-eye with the destroyer of worlds.

_Beast Boy: "Did he…did he just _call out Trigon_? Man…that would be so cool if it weren't so stupid!"_

"Seriously, what is your _deal_? What point is there in destroying the world?"

_Robin: "I mean, sure, he's a forty foot tall red guy with horns and hooves, but that doesn't mean he _has_ to destroy the world! S-, he could be the strongest hero alive if he wanted!"_

Trigon wasn't amused, and the lethal power growing in his eyes started to build, his face shining like the sun. "Your foolish mortal logic does not apply to me. I am the source of all darkness. I _exist_ to bring everything to ruin. Creation only _exists_ so that I can destroy it. It is the natural order of things."

"Oh." Dick's ego deflated like a popped balloon.

_Robin: "I guess it was pretty f-ing stupid to think I could change his mind, but hell, I had to give it a shot! I didn't know he took it so personally!"_

"This planet will soon collapse, and I will move on, until every speck of this universe has been annihilated. You children are the first to resist me since the Monks of Azarath. Unlike those fools, you will not survive. You must be punished for impeding my progress.

"Begone."

_'Titans!'_

Suddenly the Teen Titans found themselves in a room of bright white. Standing in a circle, the thin form of Lilith Clay stood between them, linking their minds.

_'I am a telepath, and I hate to say it, but my powers aren't going to be able to do a thing against Trigon! All I can do…is connect our minds. I'm creating a telepathic link between us, so we can strategize without that monster overhearing us!_

_ 'I'm sorry, but it's all I can do!'_

Donna smiled._ 'That's plenty, Lilith! This'll be a huge help!'_

_'So how are we gonna take this guy down?'_ thought Cyborg, grimacing. _'Even at full power I don't think we could scratch this guy! We need some sorta strategy!'_

_ 'We are still on Titans Island!'_ realized Koriand'r. _'I can fly, but I do not think that Trigon can! Perhaps we can knock him into the lava that surrounds us!'_

_ 'Now _that_ sounds like a plan!'_ thought Robin with a smile. _'Let's do this, guys!'_

The psychic summit took only a second, and immediately Speed was off, a yellow streak scattering the Titans. Trigon ignored their efforts, the blast he had been readying finally peaking in pure destructive power.

Suddenly, Starfire and Wonder Girl came soaring towards his face. Flying at an even pace, they left a huge gap between the two of them. In Donna's left hand and Kory's right, each held a firm grip on the adopted Amazon's magical lasso.

_Wonder Girl: "My lasso may not have all the abilities my sister's does, but it's still an artifact of the Gods! I pray it has the strength to hold up against Trigon!"_

Flying past his head, the mystical rope latched into the monster's neck and snapped his head backwards—his attack was immediately released, but sent flying into the air. Although the Titans were spared, it still took its toll. The planet shook from the sheer recoil, and Trigon's hooves dug far into the island, nearly driving it under the lava ocean that surrounded it.

Robin, Cyborg and Lilith were left on the island, and they weren't liking that!

_Robin: "S-, the others better act fast! If this doesn't work, we're f-ed!_"

The hatches on Victor Stone's shoulders and head lit up fluorescent blue as he thrust his arms to the side, erecting a dome of solidified blue energy that surrounded much of the island, holding the gushing magma at bay.

_'C'mon guys!'_ he screamed over the telepathic link. _'I ain't got the energy to keep this up!'_

_'Onmyway!'_ Wally West circled the planet, building up momentum, with Garfield Logan, the changeling known as Beast Boy, slung over his shoulder. "Hang on tight, Gar!" cried the speedster as he ran even faster. "Almost there!"

In reply, the boy's normally green face simply turned white.

_Beast Boy: "Great, the only thing worse than being lugged around at super speed is being _nauseous_ at super speed. The last thing we need is for me to throw up at Mach 7!"_

"Now!" Coming up behind Trigon, Speed hurled his passenger with all his might, straight towards the back of the monster's knee. Spinning like a well pitched fastball, Beast Boy grew into an ankylosaurous, his spine-covered armor still spiraling as he grew even closer to Trigon.

Wally again circled the planet, picking up even more speed. In less than a split-second he was back to the spot where he had launched Beast Boy, and this time he leapt, skipping off the lava and into the air. Crouching, he grabbed into his legs and took the fetal position, becoming a human cannonball aimed straight for the back of Trigon's other knee!

_Speed: "Okay, this is either the best plan ever, or just plain suicide! It better be the first!"_

Both targets hit their mark, knocking the massive monster even further off balance.

"All right! My turn!" cried Vic Stone, letting down his shield for a second, then placing his hands on the ground and unleashing an even louder cry. His shield now formed flat beneath Trigon's hooves, like the floor, and the half-robot thrusted his arms into the air, making his shield follow suit!

"C'mon, dammit! Fall!"

_Cyborg: "That little trick pretty much did in my energy shield. With all the abuse it took today, I'm surprised it lasted this long to begin with—what with protecting me from my explodin' lab and from Jupiter's mooks and topplin' a forty foot tall monster an' all!_

_"Now I just gotta make sure I save enough juice to keep _me _goin'!"_

"Tiiiiimbeeer!" cried Dick Grayson happily as his friends waited with baited breath for Trigon to fall.

And fall he did.

The evil being didn't even try to stop his fall or move his arms to regain his balance—he fell like a freshly cut tree.

_ Beast Boy: "Woah, we actually did it! Insane! An' here I thought we were just wastin' time!"_

Unfortunately for the Titans, Trigon had more up his sleeve than any of them could even begin to comprehend. Just as he was about to hit the sea, the behemoth suddenly moved with inhuman speed and tucked his body, somersaulting and landing on his feet—_in the lake of lava!_

As the rest of the Titans returned to their island, magma splashed into the air like a geyser from Trigon's landing. The liquid rock trickled down the monster like sweat. Obviously, he wasn't affected by it in the least.

"This world has been remade in the image of Trigon the Terrible," he announced in his booming bass. "And nothing in Trigon's world can be used against him."

_ Beast Boy: "Crap! Why do I always celebrate too soon?"_

Trigon raised one of his arms, lava dripping from it into the pool beneath him, and suddenly the fiery lake shone. A split second later it seemed to explode as its contents erupted into the sky, splitting until it blocked out the horizon.

The lava had been converted into hundreds, maybe even thousands, of tiny fiery monsters, Flamelings. Each one several feet tall, they had eyes as black and soulless as coal—floating together, they filled the sky like a plague.

"Go forth, my minions," commanded Trigon. "Destroy."

The army of Flamelings swarmed forward, advancing like a tornado across the Midwest plains, chattering so loudly they were practically _deafening._

_ 'Great!'_ thought Gar Logan sarcastically over the telepathic link. _'What're we supposed to do now?'_

_ 'We fight, what else?' _replied Starfire without a moment's hesitation.

Quickly, Donna chimed in. _'If nothing else, at least, with the lake of lava gone, we have a lot more land to fight on! That definitely ups our odds!'_

_ 'And those grunts're nothin'!'_ added Dick casually. _'The more fodder a guy has, the s-tier they are, we all know that!'_

Cyborg was sweating bullets. _'It's not the grunts I'm worried 'bout, it's Trigon! The guy can stand around in a pool of lava and not even sweat! None of our attacks have the power to handle him!'_

_ 'I hate to admit it, but they've got a point!' _added a stressed Speed. _'What can we possibly do?'_

_ 'Fight, of course!'_ announced Robin enthusiastically. _'We've barely even begun to give that monster hell! Even if we can't win, either we just f-ing give up and _let_ him kill us, or we go out fightin'! I know which one I'm doin'!'_

Beast Boy took the form of a massive green bear and started charging for the swarm. _'He's right!' _he added. _'I swore I wasn't gonna give up, so that's what I'm gonna do!'_

_ Cyborg: "Wow, I dunno what happened to give Gar such a backbone, but I'm sure glad he's bein' so brave! It makes me feel better knowin' everybody else is willing to put so much into this!"_

_ Speed: "I don't know what's more surprising here, Gar or Dick. When I left, wasn't Dick flaking out left and right? When did he become Mr. Inspirational Speaker?"_

_ Beast Boy: "Wow, I could get used to this mind-link stuff! Now I can say stuff even as an animal!'_

Using the telepathic link, the Titans were able to converse much more quickly than they could out loud, but still, the massive throng of fiery creatures was descending upon them like a plague, and they weren't slowing down.

_ 'Okay guys, here's the plan!' _announced Robin, again taking the lead. _'Trigon doesn't f- around and play by rules, we know that! Take out just enough grunts to get past 'em, and send the rest my way! These guys are more _my_ speed! The rest of you need to focus on gettin' through and attackin' Trigon, cause he sure as hell ain't gonna sit around while we fight his kids all f-ing day!'_

"My pleasure!" screamed Princess Koriand'r as she exploded into the sky at top speed, immersing herself in the solar energy of her Starbolts and tearing through the crowd of enemies like a green streak.

_ Starfire: "All day Dick has been amazing me! He is certainly not the same boy who was ignoring everybody and being dark and mean, but he is also not the same cocky boy he was when we first met!_

_ "He is growing into a brave man, one I am proud to know! And, if he keeps this up, one I will be proud to once again call my 'boyfriend'!"_

_ Robin: "I'm the only guy on this team without powers, but that doesn't bother me anymore. S-, it's smart to know my limits. There's nothing I can do against Trigon 'cept egg my friends on, but these s-ty goons? I'm gonna tear them the f- apart!"_

Still, despite all of Dick's boundless confidence—whether justified or not—Trigon's minions weren't letting him get off easy—they weren't letting _any_ of the Titans get off easy! Flames overtook Starfire, finally forcing her to slam the breaks on her assault, if only for a second.

It was more than enough time for Trigon. He didn't even waste his breath as he silently sent a beam of unparalleled malicious energy blazing towards the Tamaranian powerhouse. Her eyes grew wide as the crimson beam blocked out the blood-red sky, but suddenly she felt an impact in her stomach.

Donna Troy flew into her teammate at top speed, sending her shoulder into her gut, pushing both of them out of the path of the lethal attack. Koriand'r's eyes grew wide in horror as she watched several dozen Flamelings annihilated in the assault.

Her anger blazing out of control, the alien powerhouse threw her arms forward and unleashed a rapid fire, machine-gun-like volley of Starbolts. "Monster!" she cried as the potent blasts bounced off Trigon's chest like water balloons. "How can you destroy your own servants?"

"Easily," replied Trigon nonchalantly as he fired another blast, separating the two girls. "Their existence holds no meaning. _No_ existence holds_ any_ meaning."

_Wonder Girl: "Poor Kory! She's so sweet, she just can't comprehend monsters like Trigon! Hera, _I_ barely can myself! He's no run of the mill sociopath, that's for sure—he's not even a _Deathstroke_-level sociopath!_

_ "He reminds me more of the Greek Gods of myth I spent my childhood learning about on Themyscara! Many are selfish and callous and care nothing of those supposedely 'below' them—and I'm trying _not_ to think of how much that reminds me of how _I _used to be, because I don't think I can stomach that right now!_

_ "But Trigon's even worse! He doesn't care about anything or anyone, not even himself! And his power, it's unfathomable! I…I've stood before Zeus and the Greek Pantheon, but, Hera forgive me, Trigon's _still_ the closest thing to a God I've ever met!"_

As Trigon continued his attack unabated, his distractions continued to run interference with the other Titans. A patch of the Flamelings broke off and swarmed to the ground below, each breathing flames, sending a shower of fire falling towards the boys!

Pulling his staff from his belt, Robin span it like a fan above his head, deflecting as much fire as he could. Meanwhile, the swarm pulled down low, ready to launch another attack.

He never gave them the chance. Stretching one leg and spinning down low, he tossed a handful of blue disks. Exploding in a blinding flash of icy hue, a wall of thick ice formed between the Titan and the Flamelings. Of course, it took only a second for the fiery beings to melt their way through, but by then it was too late.

Robin leapt through the steamy haze of the melting ice, lashing out with his staff in all directions. Monsters were shattered, hacked into pieces left and right, as Dick followed up with a handful of disks—this time of the explosive variety, blowing their targets into embers.

_ Robin: "S-, this would be a lot more fun if these guys talked, or even if they could just hear _my_ trash talk! I thought I gave up this silent act!"_

However, not everybody present was quite as prepared to defend themselves from the sudden onslaught. Lilith Clay staggered backwards as an offshoot of the swarm headed in her direction.

_ Omen: "Its times like this I wish my powers were more offensive! I mean, a judo chop isn't going to cut it now! And these monsters, they're, they're just a hivemind! They only do what Trigon commands! I can't manipulate their thoughts if they don't _have _any!_

_ "And _Trigon_...I can't even bring myself to try to get into his head! Just him standing there sends enough psychic feedback to give me a constant headache!_

_ "Still, I might have one more trick up my sleeve..."_

Lilith stood her ground, tumbling past a plume of fire until nearly the entire swarm surrounded her. Throwing her arms into the air, she had one thing to say:

"Teleport time!"

The air around the telepath shimmered and span, creating a vortex that sucked the monsters into its center. Across the now empty bay, in the now-stone-city itself, Lilith appeared in another whirlpool of air, but back where she started at, the targeted Flamelings were destroyed in the quickly fading portal.

_ Omen: "I've...I've always just _known_ that I wasn't able to teleport anybody else with me, but I've never tested it out before, for obvious reasons! Okay, now I know that teleporting others makes them explode! It was a risky venture, but it worked!_

_ "Finally, I was beginning to think _everything_ I did today was going to fail..."_

However, Omen's thoughts were quickly overtaken by something completely different. _'Wait,'_ she thought, _'I'm only able to teleport to a mind I'm familiar with. Why was I brought into the city? None of the Titans are here!'_

That was when she finally noticed the faint mental signatures coming from nearby. They weren't the vibrant thoughts of somebody alive, or even the fractured thoughts of one dreaming, but more of a low hum, like the mind was still functioning, but actually devoid of thought altogether.

Lilith finally pinpointed the location of the strange thought waves—though she needn't have looked far, since they were coming from a strange body lying at her feet! Lilith gasped as she _recognized_ the corpse: a pale girl in a blue cloak, with a gem on her forehead, four eyes and long, jet black hair.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Lilith Clay. "Raven!"

Meanwhile, back at bay, the Teen Titans had no idea of the news of their departed teammate. They were too busy fighting for their lives!

Somersaulting over another row of monsters, Dick Grayson lashed out with several razor-tipped Redbird boomerangs, which took out just as many targets in the sky. As those minions were shredded to ribbons, behind them exploded a dazzling green display of Starbolts, flying in all directions like fireworks!

The action was just as intense on the ground, as Gar Logan, in the shape of a green boar, butted fiery monster after fiery monster out of his path. A wall of them stopped in his path, but before they could barbeque the animal, he grew into a bear and sliced them into confetti with his razor sharp claws.

_ Beast Boy: "I'm with Dick on this one—I like fighting these goons a lot more than ol' four eyes over there! These guys may burn my claws, but at least they can't wipe me out just by lookin' at me! Seriously, what am I supposed to do against Trigon? Even my T-Rex form is like an ant to the guy!"_

Still, the tiny green changeling didn't hold back, knowing he owed it to the others to give it everything he had. Following through with his attacks, his paws reached the ground and suddenly he was a chimpanzee, doing a hand-stand—immediately he sprang into the air, somersaulting, and using the height advantage to turn into an eagle and get even higher into the sky.

Below him the flaming freaks followed, but it was just what the boy wanted. Suddenly he gained several tons as he expanded into the blue whale, falling and crushing his foes beneath his massive layer of blubber. Not to be deterred, more mindless drones flew in from above, but were suddenly tangled up in the many tentacles of a giant, green squid!

_ Beast Boy: "Gah, it's hot, hot, hot! Sea animals, okay, bad idea! I thought I'd be resistant to water, but they're only drying me out! That's the last time I take fightin' advice from Pokemon!"_

Still, Gar kept the Flamelings in his grip just long enough to spin and toss them every which way. Using his momentum he slapped himself above a plume of flame, then grew into the beforementioned Tyrannosaurus Rex, landing with a massive thud and turning his opponents into the proverbial bubble gum on the sole of his proverbial shoe.

Meanwhile, Cyborg had propelled himself as far into the air as was possible for him with a combination of his massive leg strength and the boosters on the soles of his robotic feet. "Come'n get it, punks!" he screamed as he started his descent, pulling his arms behind his back as the right changed shape, readying his Sonic Cannon, and in their mindless stupor, the fiery monsters foolishly followed behind.

As he hit the ground with enough force to shatter steel he threw down his arms and released a massive shock wave. Exploding around him, it reduced all the fodder stupid enough to get within forty feet of him into nothing but ash.

_ Cyborg: "That's it, Vic, hit 'em hard and hit 'em fast! With my shield gone, I can't give 'em a chance to hit _me_!"_

Of course, fodder being fodder for a reason, the shrieking creatures didn't even let the smoke clear as they swooped down low and charged the half-robot. Vic smirked as concussive cannons emerged around his body and fired a vicious volley of powerful shots, followed immediately by the joints on his shoulder unhinging and unleashing a pack of missiles!

Explosions filled the air as the Titan's attacks hit home, but somewhere along the line, several of the Flamelings caught on. A missile locked onto each of them, and they let it follow them until they strafed out of its path at the last second, leaving the projectiles to spin out aimlessly until finally finding a new target: Trigon the Terrible!

Victor's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he saw the missiles harmlessly detonate against the red behemoth, and could barely swallow the lump in his throat as the monster halted his assault on the girls and instead turned _his_ way.

"You will be the first to die," announced Trigon, launching another massive beam of energy from his eyes without a moment's hesitation.

There was no time to even move—Vic only had one hope. _'Wally!'_

The speedster to whom he called, however, had his mind on only one thing—slaying monsters! Moving several times faster than the speed of sound, Wally West was barely even a yellow blur as he tore through the teeming crowd of Flamelings, blowing them to bits with ultra-fast punches before they even knew he was there!

Smirking, Speed slowed down just enough to allow a good chunk of the crowd to take his tail. As soon as he was satisfied that they would follow his every move, he abruptly changed directions, heading for the city, and the sloping wall that was once its shoreline!

_ Speed: "Okay, I've got down running and making suits and even that vibrating business—time to retry another old trick! Let's see how those creeps handle super-speed!"_

Wally's Speed Force suit lit up as the Titan strained, lending speed to each and every one of the burning monsters that were hot on his tail—and gaining! Wally felt himself starting to lag as he grew close to the shore, and that fact nearly caused him to panic—not only did he speed his opponents up, but _he_ was _slowing down_!

_ Speed: "Okay, that would've been good to know_ before_ I tried this little stunt—if I lend somebody speed, I'm giving them _my _speed now! Great, Speed Force, screw me over when I need your help the most. I'm really gonna be pushing it now!"_

Indeed pushing with everything he had left, Wally banked hard and fell, landing on his stomach and sliding away at Mach 2. Fortunately, it was still just what he needed—he'd gotten out of the path of his opponents! The swarm, now unable to control the prodigious speed they'd been granted, flew straight into the shore, snuffing themselves out one by one!

Dazed, it took a second for Speed to pull his head back together, and in that second he finally heard it.

_ 'Wally!'_

Cyborg's voice sounded in the speedster's head, and with his quickened reactions, he spotted his robotic teammate almost instantly, and just as quickly he was on his feet, racing against time with everything he had!

_ Speed: "Great, I'm still not completely used to running in this body! My thoughts are sped up like the rest of me, but if I'm gonna hear anybody calling me, I've gotta focus more! That's tough, though, when there's a million thoughts running through my head every second!"_

A supernatural force all its own, Trigon's beam moved at a speed that made even Wally sweat a little. In one clean sweep he grabbed Cyborg and pulled him to safety, just making it out of the attack's radius by a hair's width—he could still feel the heat of the beam across his back! The teen slowed for a second, trying to catch his breath.

"Sorry for the last second save," he said with a chuckle, trying to reassure himself as much as his passenger.

Unfortunately, Vic certainly wasn't feeling relieved. "We're not outta the woods yet!" he exclaimed, pointing ahead of them.

Indeed, Trigon was undeterred by their escape and had merely shifted his attention to the nearby Beast Boy. "One by one you shall fall," he prophesied in his booming bass. "No matter how many times you escape, you will only be delaying the inevitable."

The Earth shook as he launched another beam, not even giving Garfield time to react. Surrounded by Flamelings, still in mid-attack, Gar felt heat and heard a deafening roar and looked up just in time to see the attack ready to snuff out his life.

"Crap!" was all he had time to squeak out.

Crimson energy tore into the Earth for the third time in a row, and the planet lurched like somebody had tried to knock it out of the sky. Garfield Logan opened his eyes to find himself being dragged by the collar of his costume by Wally, who was circling behind Trigon and far away from the site of the last two strikes.

"Man, Wally," exclaimed the changeling, "I know who today's MVP is!"

As he stared at the seeping holes in the ground, though, Vic didn't look quite so pleased.

_ Cyborg: "Trigon's attacks are tearing through the Earth like it's a tissue! Dodgin' those blasts may help _us_, but Earth's gonna implode into itself if this keeps up! Damn! We don't have time to play 'round with defense like this!"_

Suddenly the three Titans were on the other side of Trigon, hoping to catch him off guard even for a split second. _'Get ready!' _announced Wally over the telepathic link. _'I'm gonna try to steal his speed! When he stops moving, hit him with everything you've got!'_

Again Speed's costume started to glow as the boy vibrated, sucking in a copious amount of golden energy from the massive crimson monster.

_Speed: "Lord, this isn't as easy as it was when I didn't have my body, but if it gets this monster to hold still, it'll sure be easier than running!"_

However, not everybody was as enamored with Wally's plan as the speedster himself was. _'Uh, Wally?'_ prodded Cyborg, _'I dunno if this is the best strategy, man!'_

'_Yeah!' _piped in Beast Boy. _'We're sittin' ducks here!'_ he proclaimed as he literally shrunk into a duck, and then sat down.

'_Guys, I can handle this!'_ reassured Speed. _'If he can't move then he definitely can't hit us!'_

But on the other side of the now-empty bay, Dick Grayson had to disagree. Spinning, he chopped an entire row of Flamelings in half with his staff, then shot a flare gun into the air, attracting more of the devilish monstrosities to him—and away from his teammates.

Then he heard Speed's voice in his head, and immediately his heart started racing. _'Wally, no!'_ he cried in a psychic panic. _'You're our ace in the f-in' hole! Don't stop runnin'! Don't let Trigon see you!'_

'_I said I have this under control!'_ snapped Wally.

"You channel the Speed Force." Wally West's jaw practically dropped to the ground as Trigon—despite having his speed sapped by the young Titan—turned to face his attacker head-on. "Fascinating, if futile. This Speed Force has no control over my movements.

"Yet you have inspired me as to what dimension I shall destroy after I am finished with yours," said the monster as his signature attack again leapt from his four freakish eyes. "Let that thought comfort you in your last few moments of life."

"Get us _outta_ here!" cried Gar as the now familiar sight of imminent death approached.

_Beast Boy: "I mean, I'd do it myself, but no way a cheetah's gonna be able to outrun that, not even on steroids!"_

"You don't have to tell _me_ twice!" replied Wally as he grabbed hold of his two teammates and hightailed it outta there as fast as the Speed Force would take him!

In response Trigon merely raised one leg, then stomped it back to the ground, shaking the entire planet beneath him. "Running," growled the monster. "I am tired of it." In the spot where his foot met the earth, a massive fissure cracked the ground, stretching into a deep chasm far too long for Speed to even jump across!

Unfortunately, he didn't have time to turn either, and he was careening right towards the deadly gap! Even as he dug his feet into the ground, trying his best to swerve into a curve, time was running out—and then it was simply too late, as Speed, Beast Boy and Cyborg went hurtling into the miniature Grand Canyon!

Their screams echoed into the dark abyss, and all seemed lost—until one of the Titans came to a grand revelation.

_ Beast Boy: "Wait a second! I can fly!"_

So without delay the tiny changeling transformed into the prehistoric pterodactyl, his claw clamped down on Wally's forearm like a vice. _'Don't let go!'_ he cried as he flapped his wings frantically, desperately trying to gain altitude.

"Wouldn't dream of it!" was the speedster's sarcastic reply.

Unfortunately, despite his noble intents, Gar simply couldn't fly high enough. _'I'm not used to carrying two people!' _he realized. _'You guys gotta do something to give me a boost here, or something! You're too heavy!'_

"No, _I'm_ too heavy," answered Victor Stone somberly. He knew what he had to do.

_ 'Wait, Vic, what—'_

"Better one of us die than all of us," said the half-robot as he let go. Suddenly Gar and Wally snapped into the air, screaming for their friend, as the metallic Titan plummeted further into the depths.

_ Cyborg: "I try to be idealistic, but I think I just gotta face it, ain't no way we're all making it out of this alive. It's the end of the world, after all! An' after all Gar an' Wally've been through, I can't let them be the ones to make that sacrifice!"_

However, it seemed Vic's friends were willing to risk everything to make sure his sacrifice needn't happen! "No!" cried a high pitched voice as an orange and red streak zoomed through the air and towards the half-robot. "No one shall die today!"

Suddenly Victor Stone was swept up in the strong arms of Starfire, who soared out of the canyon and back into the bleak landscape effortlessly.

"Damn," smiled Cyborg, "I've _never_ been this happy to see you before!"

_ Cyborg: "And I've seen her topless, so that's sayin' something!_

_ "...Uh-oh. I hope _Sarah_ don't see this..."_

"I am glad to see you as well," said Koriand'r as she rocketed into the sky and past another of Trigon's merciless blasts. "Please, do not try anything so reckless again!"

_ Starfire: "There has been too much death and destruction today already! I will do everything in my power to make sure we see no more!"_

Across the bay, Robin span, karate chopping straight through one of the Flamelings and sending a grappling hook into another. Pressing a button, the line retracted and pulled the fiery monster close, as well as every one of his brethren in his path! With a vicious scream, the acrobat leapt and destroyed the entangled creatures with a well placed roundhouse kick!

_ Robin: "Okay, that was a better move—I gotta take down as many of these f-ers as I can at a time! I'm almost out of weapons!"_

However, the Titan had many other matters on his mind as well. _'S-, Wally,'_ he complained over the telepathic connection, _'I told you to be careful! You can't do anything if you just attack the guy! We need you for motherf-ing _defense_!'_

Letting go of Beast Boy's talon as they rose past the edge of the chasm, he hit the ground running, becoming a super-fast, super-_angry _yellow streak. _'So you're saying I can't attack this guy? That I'm too weak? What gives you the right?'_

Dick ignored the latter part of that question. _'You're not weak, dude! You just don't have any way to hurt Trigon. S- man, _I _don't either! But you heard Gar—you're the motherf-in' _VIP_, man! We'd be dead if you weren't watchin' our backs! We need you outta Trigon's sight and savin' our asses!'_

Wally's eyes widened in surprise.

_ Speed: "Wow, he's really thought this through! And he's right...I really _have_ saved their lives today. Over and over! And they _noticed_!_ _I guess I have more to offer this team than I ever realized..."_

High above the action, Donna Troy span, lashing out with her electrified lasso and with powerful Amazonian martial art strikes, tearing through the angry mobs of Flamelings like butter. While her mind was focused on the battle, she couldn't help but overhear Dick and Wally's conversation.

_ Wonder Girl: "A few days ago I would have been _furious_ at the way Dick has taken command of the battle—largely because it would have undermined _me_ as leader! But honestly...I'm tired of leading the team. It's never been something I've enjoyed. I did it because I thought I was the only one qualified, and because I thought it would make me _look_ good, but it's been one of the hardest things I've ever done! Dick's a little rough around the edges, but he's doing a better job than I _ever_ did!"_

Flanking her from each side, two Flamelings span and whipped at the adopted Amazon with long fiery tentacles, but she easily intercepted the attacks with her unbreakable bracelets. Dead ahead several more of the monsters let loose with a powerful blast of burning breath, but she crossed her arms and again blocked with her shield-like jewelry.

Wonder Girl smiled as she stopped resisting, letting the attack push her towards the city. Using the momentum as a spring, she shot backwards and, putting both arms ahead of her and gritting her teeth, plowed straight through a building!

A red, blue and gold blur, Donna shot around the building with blinding speed, tying the severed half tightly in the magical cords of her lasso. Grunting, she began to spin, swirling the demolished brownstone around her like a massive, makeshift ball and chain!

_ Wonder Girl: "I hate to destroy private property like this, but if we lose, it's not like anybody will know anyway! And if we win, well...I just hope the JLA or the Themyscarian embassy will help me reimburse these guys!"_

Flamelings were shattered left and right, dying with blood curdling screams, not even able to get _close_ to the super-strong Titan because of the powerful long-range weapon! She span through the sky like a massive propeller, and as the last of the Flamelings withered around her, she sounded a mighty warrior's cry and swung the building straight into Trigon's chest!

Four stories of brick and concrete collided with the indomitable wall of red, burning flesh, crushing into pulp yet causing absolutely no damage to the target. Trigon frowned, all four eyes arching.

"Your resistance is growing old," he groaned as he set his sights on Donna—only seconds before she was incinerated, Starfire shot across the sky like a comet and pulled her teammate out of harm's path!

"I guess we are now even," surmised the Tamaranian with a smile and a slight chuckle.

"I think, with it being the end of the world and everything, we don't need to keep track that sort of stuff." Still, blushing, Donna continued, "But thanks!"

And immediately she shifted her thoughts to a more serious subject, sending out a call over the telepathic link. _'Okay guys, I just threw a _building_ at Trigon and he didn't even flinch!'_

_ 'You threw a building?' _marveled Gar. _'Crowning moment of awesome, Donna! Seriously!'_

_ 'Thanks, Gar…I guess—but Trigon sure didn't think so,'_ lamented the adopted Amazon. _'We need teamwork! We need to hit him with everything we have, and keep him distracted so he can't fight back! Attacking him one by one isn't working!'_

Cyborg smiled. _'Teamwork? I think we can do that. Right, Gar?"_

Instantly a pterodactyl dove from the sky, clamping his razor-sharp talons onto the metal-man's shoulders and lifting him into the air. _'Yeah!' _cheerfully replied the changeling. _'Sure can!'_

_ Beast Boy: "See? No problem carrying Vic when it's just him!"_

Dick Grayson frowned as he drove his foot through the chest of a Flameling. His frustrated expression didn't ease up as he looked to the sky and saw close to two hundred of the fiery little devils still swarming the area. It was only a fraction of the original count, but it was still far too many for comfort, especially with Trigon upping the ante!

_'I can do teamwork too!'_ he announced as he reached for his belt. _'Wally, I need you to round up the rest of these f-ers and lead 'em to me! Kory, wait five seconds then get me the hell outta here!'_

With complete faith in his teammates, Robin pulled what looked like a small grenade from the back of his utility belt and, pressing a button, tossed it high above his head.

_Robin: "I've been holding onto this little guy for a seriously long time—with the whole 'no killin'' thing, wasn't much use for it, but now, hell, these fiery s-heads won't know what hit 'em!"_

Thanks to his knack for theatrics and drawing attention, most of the Flamelings had already flocked to the agile acrobat, but the few that hadn't now found themselves at the Titan's mercy, dragged to his side in the slipstream of his super-fast teammate!

Reaching the apex of its throw, the grenade seemed to freeze in mid-air for only an instant before falling back to Earth. On its side, a timer slowly counted down.

_4…_

_ 3…_

_ 2…_

Dick clenched his teeth, determined that his teammate would come through, no matter what personal problems lay between them—and his faith was rewarded as Starfire suddenly soared above him, grabbing firmly onto his wrist and pulling him from his weapon's path.

Arcing into the air, leaving a trail of fire behind her, they barely cleared the blast radius before the bomb blew, annihilating the remaining Flamelings with one blast that truly deserved the over-hyped adjective, "epic."

"What was that?" gasped Starfire, her eyes growing wide.

"The only useful thing Jupiter ever gave any of us," growled Robin, eying the carnage for only a moment before pointing forward. "Now c'mon! We still got a giant red monster's ass to kick!"

As Wally zoomed across the bottom of the bay, distracting Trigon with a constant barrage of rocks but never stopping long enough to become a target, a green Pterodactyl soared above the massive monster's head, dragging below him a being half-man, half-machine!

_'Thanks Gar!'_ thought Victor Stone as he let go, falling toward his opponent's head, all the while readying his Sonic Cannon. His right arm folded back into his signature weapon, while he steadied it with his left, aiming squarely for the monster's ear. _'Now it's my turn to do some damage!'_

A blast of sound so potently high it was nearly inaudible exploded from the machine man's arm, roaring into Trigon's ear and eliciting a scream from the—until now—invulnerable juggernaut!

_Cyborg: "I knew it! The guy can't be _completely_ unstoppable! He's got weak points like anyone else!"_

Gliding to the other side of Trigon's head, Garfield Logan changed forms, growing and contorting until he had assumed the shape of a chartreuse-hued T-Rex—just about the only animal at his disposal capable of dealing any sort of damage to the behemoth! Falling, he aimed for the side opposite of Cyborg, and sank his sharp—and numerous—teeth right into the monster's ear!

_Beast Boy: "Finally! I was just startin' to think there was no way to hurt this freak!"_

_'Keep it up! Don't let 'im fight back!'_ cheered Dick as his alien chauffer soared straight towards Trigon's face before arcing upwards, letting go of her passenger. Spinning through the air, the acrobat only had a few seconds of freefall to do much of anything.

He span, tossing a flash disc that burst into a blinding flash of light only inches from Trigon's eyes. Staggering backwards the monster screamed and grabbed for his eyes, and spinning again, Dick followed up with a handful of explosive discs, which landed with similar effect.

Before the smoke from the explosions even cleared Trigon's four eyes began to glow red. _'Kory, get me outta here!'_ desperately called the Titan—the golden-skinned alien soared past and pulled him to safety, but she needn't have bothered.

Just as the attack was ready to leap from his eyes, Trigon felt his head pulled backwards, and taken by surprise, actually staggered, nearly losing his balance!

On the ground, Donna Troy dug her heels into the dirt, her lasso tied so tight around both hands that it was leaving burns—she pulled on her mystical rope with all her might, nearly jostling her arms from their sockets. She had tied the weapon into two loops, and managed to toss each one over each of Trigon's antlers! Now she was the only thing keeping him off balance—and vulnerable!

_Wonder Girl: "There may not be much _we _can do to hurt Trigon, but this lasso is endowed with a portion of the power of _Zeus_ himself! If anything can hurt him, my lightning can!"_

Electricity sparked down the length of the rope, striking its captive with enough juice to power San Francisco for a month! Even with that massive discharge, however, Trigon seemed nothing more than discomforted. For the adopted Amazon's teammates, though, it was a different story.

_'Watch it, Donna!'_ cried Gar Logan as he released his grip on the monster's ear only seconds before her lightning engulfed it. Falling for a few seconds, he shrank into an eagle and caught a wind current, contemplating just how to attack next.

_ Beast Boy: "To tell the truth, I wouldn't of been able to hold on much longer anyway! Trigon's hot...ew, not like that, sickos! I mean bitin' into his ear was like bitin' into a pizza right outta the oven, only, like, a zillion times hotter!"_

Boosters flared at full power on the bottom of Cyborg's feet as he tried to keep himself aloft as long as possible, laying it on thick with every ounce of sonic power he had. Straining, he suddenly saw Trigon frown—and he knew that wasn't good! Unfortunately, he didn't even have time to react before the monster made his move!

"Enough!" cried Trigon, finally losing his cool. The air around the behemoth erupted and exploded, blowing outwards with so much power that he sank into a crater! Circuits sparked and shattered across Cyborg's mechanical body as he was blown backwards. Beast Boy barely managed to again assume his blue whale shape before hitting the ground with a deafening thud, protected from the brunt of the impact by his layer of thick blubber.

Despite everything, even Donna couldn't keep her grip as she was sent sprawling, far away from her weapon. "My lasso!" she cried, trying desperately to fly to it, but having no luck—Trigon's attack was simply too powerful!

"The lightning of your gods is pathetic," growled Trigon as he pulled the rope from his horns and tossed it aside like a candy wrapper. "They have no power compared to me."

_Wonder Girl: "Oh, Zeus is _not_ going to be happy when he hears _that_…"_

Hurtling towards the ground like a meteor, Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran only had a few seconds to stop her fall before she was crushed into paste! Throwing her hands behind her, she unleashed a massive blast of green solar energy—while the attack scorched the Earth below her, the recoil was more than sufficient to steady her!

"I am tired of this!" cried the alien as sizzling energy leaked from her expressive eyes. "Maybe I cannot hurt you, but I will no longer hold back!

"I will not quit until I am _dead!_"

The Starbeam exploded from her eyes, pushing the alien backwards as it sped across Trigon's body, leaving a trail of explosions in its wake. With a scream she took to the air, hurling non-stop, and progressively larger, Starbolts with unmatched intensity.

Frowning, Trigon turned. "That can be arranged."

_Starfire: "The others probably think me a fool, rushing in like this! They have preferred strategy this entire battle, and as a warrior I understand that strategy has its place, but its place in _this_ battle has long past _ended_! We have proved that Trigon can be hurt, so now its time to hurt him as much as we can!"_

Despite the damage to his body, Victor Stone span as he fell, hitting the ground upright, on both feet, already steadying his Sonic Cannon with his free arm. It whirred and hummed as it built up power. Taking a deep breath, the half-robot didn't waste a second as he again leapt into the air, firing his weapon with everything he had!

_Cyborg: "Starry's right! It's now or never time! If I don't give this everything I've got, I prolly won't even live to regret it!"_

Meanwhile, Dick Grayson still tumbled towards the ground. He tried to spin so his cape could catch the wind and slow his fall, but he was far too disoriented from Trigon's attack to make heads or tails of where he was. He pulled a grappling launcher from his belt, but there was no place to aim at!

_Robin: "S-, why did we have to fight at the bottom of the f-ing bay? There's no place to latch onto! Hell, I've gotta do _somethin'_! I'm not like the others! If I hit the ground like this, I'm f-ing _dead_!"_

Suddenly, though, Dick felt himself starting to slow down! A stream of golden energy flowed from the acrobat, and by the time he reached the ground he'd slowed so much that the impact barely bruised him.

"Bet you're happy I stopped this time," laughed Wally West as he zapped to his teammate's side. "So what now, fearless leader?" he asked, with only the slightest hint of sarcasm.

Standing up with a solemn look on his face, Robin unclipped his utility belt and dropped it to the ground.

"From me? Nothin'. I'm all outta weapons!

"We just gotta hope the _others_ can pull this off now!"

"I grow tired of your impudence," growled Trigon as he was bombarded by Starbolts from one side, and with supercharged sound waves from the other. He stretched his arms, but before he could do anything, a new figure appeared above his head!

Donna Troy reached the apex of her jump before diving, holding in her hands a massive pole, its end sharpened into a point! Screaming, she flipped it in her hands before driving it straight into one of Trigon's eyes!

"That's what you get for taking my lasso!" cried Wonder Girl, allowing herself for one brief second to take pride in the accomplishment!

"Die!" retaliated Trigon, instantly firing a beam from his eyes, destroying the pole and very nearly Donna herself! Of course, dodging even _Trigon's_ deadly fire had started to feel like old hat, and Starfire easily streaked across the sky and pulled Donna to safety.

_Starfire: "An easy rescue! How else would Trigon have reacted to such an injury? His predictability gave me plenty of time to react appropriately!"_

Snarling savagely, Trigon didn't stop there. He span, swiping at the girls with his massive hands. This time, they only escaped by the skin of their teeth—they didn't know if they could do it again.

Fortunately for them, he wasn't their target anymore. In mid-spin the monster extended his leg, hurling a roundhouse kick straight towards his other assailant, Vic Stone!

"Vic!" Above him, Kory and Donna, in shock, called helplessly—but they had no time to even react.

However, not all the Titans were that slow. A massive sonic boom blew Robin backwards as Wally West exploded into action, racing with all his might towards his robotic teammate.

_Speed: "As much as they used to piss me off, I never got a chance to know some of the Titans that well—but Vic, he's one of the good ones! It's him who helped me get my body back! I could never live with myself if I couldn't save him!"_

But as he sped forward, the landscape whizzing by, doubts began to enter the speedster's mind.

_Speed: "If only he was on the ground! He's in mid-air, and I don't know if I can get to him there! I mean, I know I can jump that high, but I don't know if I can do it on the first try, especially with Trigon's leg in the way! Lord, don't let me fail!"_

Wally leapt, shooting into the air like he'd been launched from a catapult, but despite all his efforts, Trigon was just a tad bit faster.

Metal bent and circuits exploded as his foot collided with Victor Stone.

_Cyborg: "It's funny…they say your lives s'posed to flash before your eyes before you die, yet all I can see is my friends gettin' massacred by that monster like he's doin' to me!_

_ "I wanted to protect 'em! I wanted to beat him! Damn! How could I let this happen?"_

As spare parts fell from his body, Vic was sent blasting off like a rocket. He soared across the bay, with no signs of stopping, until he collided with Titans Tower itself!

The faces of the Titans fell, one by one.

Watching from his vantage point, Dick started to tear up. "Vic…no…"

But it was his best friend, the tiny green changeling known as Beast Boy, who felt the damage the most.

"_VIC!_"

*****THE PETRIFIED REMAINS OF SAN FRANCISCO*****

The city was practically devoid of life. Transformed by Trigon's petrification wave, its ground, buildings, parks, and, most importantly, its people, had all been turned into stone statues. Its sky above was blood red, with dark lightning crackling across with great intensity.

Only two people in the entire metropolis showed any sign of existing at all—though, with Trigon rampaging through the nearby bay, their chances for survival seemed slim. The first figure lay on the ground, motionless, like a corpse. If she _was_ alive, it was barely.

She was Raven, the empathic daughter of Trigon himself! Once she had been a Teen Titan, though it turned out she was manipulating the entire team, twisting them to her desires in order to release her father from his captivity. She had promised that she would pay the ultimate price for her treachery.

The other was Lilith Clay, a mysterious telepath known as Omen. Several years ago, her precognitive powers first emerged, showing her that her parents were not the ones that birthed her. Filled with questions about her new abilities, she hit the road in search of her birth parents. Along the way, she became entangled in the plot of Mr. Loren Jupiter, corrupt manager of the Teen Titans.

She worked as Jupiter's secretary, hoping her manipulations behind the scenes would help stop the devious director's plans, and maybe even save the world!

Unfortunately, her actions were all for naught, as Jupiter's ace-in-the-hole, Raven herself, undid everything the secretary had ever set into motion.

Now Lilith kneeled on the ground, her hands pressed to Raven's temples. She was desperately searching for any sign of life inside the cynical empath—not because she hoped for Raven's humanity to 'return' as did Starfire, but because she knew that, if Raven _had_ survived, she would be as large of a threat as her father!

_ Omen: "Raven said she would die when she became the portal for Trigon, and I suppose, in a way, she was telling the truth. Her body is alive, her _brain_ is alive, yeah...but her _soul _is gone. That dark power of hers, her _Soul Self_, it's all gone...all her memories, her personality, all gone._

_ "Which, truthfully, is a good thing, considering how Raven turned out. But I guess I'm a bit disappointed, too. The Titans seemed to see something good inside of her, despite it all. I guess I was hoping, somehow, that maybe they would be right. We could certainly use her help in this battle..."_

However, as Lilith pulled her hands away from the fallen Titan's head, suddenly something flashed in her brain. While Omen was a skilled telepath, able to delve nimbly into the minds of others, she was also a precognitive, able to sometimes receive small glimpses of the future.

Now was one of those times—this was one of those visions. A brief window into future events opened in her mind's eye, but in that fleeting glimpse, she saw nothing but a blinding, all consuming wall of white!

_ 'Wait, that tells me nothing!' _she thought frantically as the premonition faded away. _'Am I dead in the future? Do we fail? What _was_ that?'_

_ Omen: "I never wanted these powers! I enjoyed my normal life before they showed up! But once I realized I had them, I went searching for my birth parents, hoping they could help me get them under control! If I could control when my visions came and how long they lasted, I could still lead a normal life! I could even use them to help people!_

_ "But then I got caught up with Jupiter, and my search...it got postponed. Even though I stopped so I could help stop Jupiter, I kinda wish I'd kept going now! Maybe if I could control these visions, I'd have some idea of how to stop Trigon!"_

Lilith jumped backwards, as if she had been startled, as she abruptly snapped out of her vision. She shook for a second as she climbed to her feet. She didn't know what she had seen—she could only assume death, but it didn't _feel_ like death. It felt...lighter. _Promising_, almost.

Not knowing what to do with herself, Omen sighed and took a step backwards. Despite the rows of buildings obscuring her vision, she could still see massive beams of red and streaks of lightning erupting from the bay. The battle was still raging, and there was nothing she could do to _help_!

That's when she felt it—six powerful beacons hailing to her from the site of the climatic final fight. Six points of energy that felt _frighteningly_ familiar!

Focusing her mind, Lilith got to work—but it only took a second to find the source! It was an easy task, because her mind was already linked to them!

In the bay, an invisible beacon of strong power shone from Robin, the acrobat extraordinaire!

From Wonder Girl, the mighty Amazon!

From Speed, the fastest teen alive!

From Cyborg, half man, half machine!

From Beast Boy, the green changeling!

From Starfire, the alien powerhouse!

And as Lilith's mind boggled at what this power was, and why it was coming from the Teen Titans, a vision—of the past, this time—started to replay in her mind. It was a memory from only a brief time ago—but with everything that had happened, it felt like _years_ had passed!

_ It was only moments before the release of Trigon. Raven had just finished telling the Teen Titans her true motives, her true view on the hopelessness of humankind. Starfire, however, didn't believe a word of it. "So, Koriand'r," asked Raven, "You truly think the humans can rise above their inherent darkness? You truly think they can fight back and prove themselves worthwhile, innocent, pure?"_

_ "I am certain of it!" exclaimed the alien. She didn't need any time to think—she just knew!_

_ "Then…I will give all of you one more chance." The Titans practically fainted as the words left Raven's mouth. "Prove to me that your light shines stronger than your darkness…that you can overcome the evil within you…and you will win."_

_ A radiant smile filled Starfire's face, and she was about to hug her friend—then Raven lashed out, thrusting one arm ahead of her and sending her Soul Self exploding around the alien princess, sending her flying backwards across the sandy shore, flat on her back, unconscious, with dark electricity still sparking across her orange body._

_ But before they could do anything to stop her, darkness shot from the rest of the Teen Titans as well. One by one they collapsed, until only Lilith Clay was left standing. _

_ Raven spoke on, but Lilith only had one question to ask. "Why didn't you give us a chance? Why did you lie to Starfire?"_

_ "I did not." Raven was resolute in this. She almost seemed offended. "I told Koriand'r that if humanity could overcome the evil within them, they could still win…and I meant it. I was never going to change my actions. The fate of the world now rests in their hands…"_

_ And then Raven released Trigon..._

Lilith gasped. Suddenly all the puzzle pieces fit together in her mind, showing her the full picture! She immediately fell back to her knees, gripping Raven's temples with new resolve and closing her eyes, unleashing the full strength of her powerful mind.

_Omen: "Raven's promise! Of course! This is _all_ about the promise!"_

Despite it all, Lilith smiled. She knew what to do! She knew how to _win!_

*****SAN FRANCISCO BAY—THE TEEN TITANS VS. TRIGON*****

Victor Stone hit the ground, surrounded by debris from the petrified tower he had just bounced off of—and from himself as well. A single kick from the dark monster Trigon had done this to him, leaving him in a state of near death—and that's if he was _lucky_.

By the time he hit the ground, it seemed like he was instantaneously met by Gar Logan and Wally West. "_Vic!_" they cried, almost in unison, as they dashed to their friend's side.

'_Calm down, you guys,'_ said Cyborg over their telepathic link. _'I'm alive. I'm _barely_ alive, but that's still alive! I don't think I'm gonna be movin' anytime soon, though.'_

'_That's better than you never moving again at all!'_ exclaimed Gar, still in the shape of a cheetah. _'Dude, do you realize how scared I was?"_

_Beast Boy: "That's _twice_ today Vic almost bit it! It's enough to give a guy a complex—or in my case, _another_ complex!"_

'_Well I wouldn't stop worryin' yet,'_ added Vic with a frown, _'Not until Trigon's smashed! I gotta plan, but I'm gonna need you guys to distract 'im for a bit!'_

Dust exploded into the air as Wally dashed off. _'You got it!'_

_Speed: "I couldn't stop Vic from getting stomped like that—it feels like it's all my fault! A distraction's the _least_ I can do!"_

Becoming a yellow blur, Speed zig-zagged across the barren battlefield, kicking up dust and gripping every rock he could find. He hurled the stones at Trigon, so fast they ricocheted off the monster like machine-gun fire! They didn't hurt him, of course, but they did what they were supposed to—they took his attention off Cyborg!

Trigon frowned, and again lifted his leg, just like he did when he split the ground earlier! "For the last time," he growled, "No running."

Suddenly, though, a vicious scream interrupted the monster's attack. Wonder Girl came soaring from below, a massive steel girder from the building she'd destroyed gripped in her hands like a baseball bat. Somersaulting, she smashed the girder into the bottom of Trigon's chin!

"You'll pay for hurting Vic!" cried the adopted Amazon as she continued her assault.

"Indeed!" echoed Starfire as she soared towards the crimson monstrosity from the other direction—but before she could attack, she was distracted by a voice sounding in her head!

'_Star! I need you!'_

Koriand'r's eyes grew wide as she recognized the voice.

"Vic!" she cried, overflowing with happiness as she landed by the half-robot. "I am—"

'—_Too loud,'_ complained Vic. _'Do you want Trigon to notice us again?'_

The alien princess blushed. _'I am…sorry.'_

_Starfire: "Despite my time on Earth, it is still my instinct, my first reaction, to think with my heart! It is even _more_ difficult to remember to use this odd telepathic link!"_

'_S'fine, Starry,'_ replied Cyborg, _'We're all a little tense here. Anyway, I need you! You absorb energy, right?'_

'_Solar energy,'_ corrected the Tamaranian, _'Yes. Why?'_

Victor was lost in thought for a second before continuing. _'Solar energy? Yeah, I can do that, even without some of my parts.'_ Looking into his teammate's eyes the best he could with his limited motion, his telepathic voice became urgent. _'I need you to absorb the rest of my power! It should boost you enough to do some real damage to Trigon!'_

'_But what about you?' _countered Starfire, concerned. _'You need your strength to survive, do you not?'_

'_I'll save enough to keep my vital systems runnin',' _he reassured her. _'I'm outta this fight anyway! It's my duty to give you guys a fightin' chance!'_

Koriand'r took hold of Cyborg's hand in a firm grip. _'I will not disappoint you!'_

Suddenly both Titans lit up as Victor Stone transferred his remaining energy—transformed into solar power—into his golden-skinned teammate.

'_Y'okay, Starry?'_

'_I will be fine! Do not worry!'_

_Cyborg: "I'm sure she's right! I've just gotta have faith in her! I've done everything I can…now I gotta leave this in the hands of my friends! I ain't gonna have enough energy to stay conscious, so, let me get this outta the way…_

"_Good luck, Star."_

Steam floated from the link between the two Titans as their transfer of energy ended. Standing by his friends, Beast Boy looked at Cyborg solemnly. He knew he wasn't getting up again. Despite everything, he felt _alone_.

'_Don't let him down, Kory,' _begged the changeling.

"I will not," stated Koriand'r confidently as she stood with her back straight. Dirt exploded from beneath her as she burst into the air, her speed doubled, leaving a flaming trail behind her. "I will not let Trigon hurt anyone else today!"

_Starfire: "I have never absorbed this much energy before! I feel like I can take on the world! I feel like I am going to explode! I have never felt this agitated, yet this _powerful_! Trigon will not know what hit him!"_

Speeding past Donna, the alien nearly knocked her Amazon friend out of the sky!

'_Better get outta there, Donna!'_ called Gar from the ground. _'She means business!'_

'_You don't have to tell _me_ twice!'_ she replied as she dropped out of the way.

_Wonder Girl: "Kory's a dear friend, but I still know better than to get in her way when she gets like that! Let's hope Trigon learns the same lesson!"_

"This ends now, Trigon!" announced Starfire at the top of her lungs as she floated at his eye level.

"Insect," growled Trigon, "You—"

"You will murder no one else today, monster!" cried the alien as she nearly exploded! Throwing both arms forward, green energy seemed to erupt from every pore of her body! The recoil sent her flying backwards nearly twelve feet as the vicious Starbolt fireball engulfed Trigon's entire head in its potent, supercharged energy!

_Robin: "Go Kory! That's my girl!"_

_Starfire: "Whatever Trigon has done to Earth has changed the sky. I can no longer feel the warm power of the sun coming through its atmosphere. Without it, I cannot recharge my energy!_

"_That means this is my last shot! I will make this count! I have given it everything I have! All my rage, my fear, my love, my happiness, my sadness, my will to live, every last bit of it has gone into this blast! Feel it, Trigon! This is the power of Starfire!"_

The Starburst's unparalleled power overwhelmed the unprepared Trigon, actually forcing him backwards! The attack might have even been able to finish the monster off—if Kory could have kept it up for another _hour_ or two. Instead, however, her stamina started to sap. Even with the added energy Cyborg granted her she quickly began to run out.

Finally, she'd used the last of it. Starfire had given it everything she had, and with no energy to spare, started to lose consciousness as her body began to fall from the sky.

Growling, Trigon wiped soot from his smoking face. His four eyebrows arched, his teeth gritted—he was _pissed_.

"Trigon will not be defiled like this!" screamed the monster, finally losing his cool as he span into the air, lashing out with his arm and smashing Koriand'r dead-on with his open palm.

Purple blood spat from the bronze-skinned alien's mouth as her ribs cracked and an arm snapped out of its socket. Not letting up, Trigon drove her into the ground, only compounding the damage. As he lifted his hand, Starfire could barely be seen, most of her body buried under shattered pieces of the stone ground.

"_KORY!_" cried Dick Grayson, leaping from his vantage point and running towards his downed love with all his might. He didn't have much time to make it across the battlefield. He'd probably be killed. He didn't seem to care.

_Robin: "S-, this is suicide! I can't believe I'm showin' myself to Trigon like this! But, I guess, there was never any real choice—no way in Hell could I leave Kory out there alone!_

"_They say love makes ya stupid…but I wouldn't have it any other f-in' way!"_

Trigon's legs stretched as he again stood upright. Never moving his eyes from Starfire, they began to light up a stark shade of crimson.

"You are broken," said the monster to his downed opponent. "That is not enough punishment for your crime!"

The massive, signature death beam leapt from Trigon's eyes, threatening to swallow up both the battered alien and her estranged love in its deadly path! Fortunately for them, though, they had friends on the scene.

The air snapped and crackled as Wally West blew through, grabbing Robin with one hand and Princess Koriand'r with the other, pulling them out of the blast just in the nick of time!

"I thought we weren't supposed to show ourselves to him?" asked Speed, half-joking, but Dick didn't even seem to hear him.

He was too busy shaking Kory, trying to get some response from her. "Kory? Kory! Please, wake up!"

The earth shook and buckled beneath Wally's feet as Trigon's attack hit, piercing the planet and nearly tearing it in two! Magma started to bubble beneath the cracking ground, and the speedster had to jump several times as the pavement fractured around him!

_Speed: "God, that was it! We don't have much more time! Earth's gonna fall apart! What chance do we even have anymore?"_

"Before today, I had never felt pain," said Trigon as he pivoted on one foot, following Speed's path. "I cannot let this injustice go so lightly!"

Suddenly, though, Trigon felt his neck constrict! Wonder Girl's magical lasso pulled tight around the monster's windpipe—she had tied it into a noose and was flying high into the sky, trying with every last ounce of strength she could muster to snap his neck!

Wally skidded to a stop, placing Kory's battered body on the ground. Tears leaking from beneath his mask, Dick dropped to his knees and leaned over her, still crying for her to wake up. As much as it tore at Wally's heart, he still couldn't help but to look up at Donna and _smile_.

Meanwhile, in the city, Lilith only intensified her efforts. Sensing that their time was drawing short, she tapped into the minds of the Teen Titans, one by one, looking for the familiar energy she had sensed within them.

_Omen: "C'mon, Cyborg, Starfire, hold on! I need to take that energy!_

_ "Wow, it's only gotten _stronger_ the more they've fought too…I guess it only makes sense, though. Still, I'm getting ahead of myself. I was telling you about Raven's promise…_

_ "When Trigon's wave covered the planet, it turned every human alive into stone! But I can't sense a thing from them! They're not dead, but their mind isn't active at all!_

_ "But the Titans, that didn't happen to them! When I connected their minds, I saw it! While their bodies were trapped as statues, they were waging a war inside their own heads! They had to fight their dark sides!_

_ "Isn't that what Raven said? That if their light shone brighter than their darkness, that if they overcame the evil within them, they could win?"_

Even as the telepath gathered her power, though, the battle was still raging! Trigon, nearly hung on Wonder Girl's magical noose, spread his arms to the side, obviously preparing to attack. Donna couldn't let him! Her grip tightened as small sparks of lightning crackled from her lasso—and from the sky around her. Trying her best to sound in control, the adopted Amazon taunted, "You shouldn't have let me get my lasso back, creep!"

Then she closed her eyes.

_Wonder Girl: "I was raised on Themyscara, protected by the Greek Gods. I've seen their blessings first hand, but when it came to _Zeus_, there's always been something about him that's put me slightly on edge._

"_But my lasso is blessed with _his_ power, and I need his help if I'm to utilize its full strength! He may have little worry for modern man, but the Earth is still the Gods' dominion, and they still have stake in it! Besides—the Gods _hate_ being mocked, and Trigon's done plenty of that!"_

Trigon's hands began to shake, summoning power, but Donna Troy paid it no mind. Instead, she _prayed_.

"Zeus, I beseech thee!" Donna screamed her cries into the heavens at the top of her lungs. "As thy humble maidservant, I beseech thee, grant me thy strength! Grant me thy strength to smite this monster that hast blasphemed thy name!"

Lightning exploded from Donna's lasso, and a single bolt fell from the sky, combining together into a massive pillar of surging electricity that lit up the landscape. Donna could barely hold onto her weapon as she screamed—not even she was safe from her own attack. Still, Trigon was taking the brunt of the damage, his entire body swallowed up by the godlike strike.

_Wonder Girl: "He came through, but the Gods do not take action without a price. Still, to save the world, my life is expendable! I only pray this was enough to do Trigon in!"_

"T-thank you…Zeus…" said Donna, her mind going fuzzy, losing energy from the attack. As her grip weakened, she lost the concentration to even speak to the god in the older dialect. "I'm…sorry…I'm sorry I couldn't…hold out…longer…"

With that Wonder Girl lost consciousness. Her lasso fell from her hand as she plummeted to the Earth, immediately ending the prodigious electric assault. Trigon coughed and growled, wiping burnt skin from his smoking body and ripping the lasso from his neck.

Donna hit the ground, her body bouncing before rolling to a stop. Above her, Trigon had taken to the sky, holding his elbow below him as he fell, ready to piledrive the adopted Amazon!

"Die!" cried the monster in his overwhelmingly deep voice. Gone was his calm demeanor, gone was his elegance. The sheer impudence of the Titans had pushed him too far! This was no longer a matter of wiping out those that did not deserve to live! Now it was a matter of punishing those who dared to hurt Trigon the Terrible!

Wally's heart fell to his knees! "Donna!" The speedster exploded forward, but despite his speed, Trigon seemed to be growing even _faster_. His attack landed, cracking the ground beneath the Titan and releasing a shock wave that knocked Speed off his feet, sending him tumbling across the battlefield!

_Speed: "Good Lord, he's getting faster! Has he been holding back all this time?"_

Lilith Clay felt the Earth shake. She didn't even _need_ her powers to know what was going on. She gripped Raven's head even tighter as the corpse began to rise off the ground, both girls' eyes glowing an eerie, nearly blinding shade of white.

_Omen: "But defeating their dark sides, it did a lot more than just let the Titans' survive to fight Trigon! Raven promised them that they would _win_!_

_ "Right after Raven made her promise, she knocked each Titan out with a blast from her Soul Self! I thought she was just being a b- at the time, but she was actually planting a small part of her Soul Self inside each one of them!_

_ "When they defeated the evil within themselves, they purified this energy! Transforming it from a force of darkness to a weapon of light, its power grew a thousand fold!" _

This light, however, wasn't doing the Titans much good at the moment. Donna Troy had been smashed beneath Trigon's elbow—wind from the explosion sent Robin's cape billowing over his head, but the traumatized acrobat paid it no mind. "Please Kory, you've gotta wake up!" beseeched the boy. "You can't die! I haven't told you yet!"

Starfire's battered body didn't move. Dick bit his lip.

"Kory, no! You can't die! I _love_ you! I _love_ you, Koriand'r!

"I know I treated you like s-! I was bein' a f-ing loser! I never should've done it, and I _deserved_ to get dumped! I know it won't make up for it, but I promise, if we survive this, I'll tell you why I did every s-ty thing I did!

"You may've never taken me back, but I couldn't let the whole f-ing _world _end without telling you the truth! _I love you!_ I love you and I'm _sorry!_ I'm f-ing sorry for _everything_!"

Dick was practically out of breath after shouting, but what little he had left immediately left his chest as he saw it. Kory_ moved_!

"D…Dick?"

"Kory! Holy f-ing s-, you're okay!"

Tears fell from Robin's face onto Starfire. Weak, nearly dead, the alien didn't have much energy to spare. Her good arm moved slowly, trembling as she rested her palm on the back of the acrobat's neck.

"Dick," she said slowly, weakly. "I…I love you too!"

With the last of her strength she pulled her love close, and the two kissed, every intimate emotion they had for each other passing between their lips. As Dick pulled away, Kory smiled—then closed her eyes, her head falling backwards, again slipping into unconsciousness.

_Starfire: "Dick finally said everything I had ever wanted to hear! It took every last bit of my strength to return the favor, but if the last thing I ever saw was the man I love telling me he loved me too, could I ever truly wish for anything more?"_

Dick wiped the tears from his face and stood up, staring down at his girlfriend as his cape whipped behind him in the wind.

_Robin: "Man, it's pretty crazy. I can take on my dark side without a problem, I can handle almost all my f-ing problems, but telling Kory I _love_ her? That took everything I had!_

"_But now that I did it, I'm happy as Hell I did. I…I hate to say it, but I don't think we can win anymore. We're killin' ourselves and it's barely scratchin' Trigon! If I'm gonna die, I'm glad I told Kory everything. I have no more regrets. I'm finally the kickass guy I always _thought_ I was!_

"_If I have to die, at least I'll die a f-ing man!"_

"Love." Suddenly towering over the acrobat, Trigon growled the word—it left his lips as a low rumble that shook the ground below him. Robin turned and stared the monster straight in the face, showing no fear even as his eyes started to glow red. "Love is not allowed in Trigon's world!"

Across the battlefield, Garfield Logan had been watching every punch thrown, every hit, growing tenser by the second. It's like an anvil was sitting on his chest!

_Beast Boy: "Crap! He took out Donna, Kory, Vic, and now he's gonna get _Dick_ too? What've I been _doing_? How can I just sit here and watch him kill my friends?"_

"Leave him alone!" cried the changeling as he charged forward. Closing his eyes, he screamed as his body began to grow.

_Beast Boy: "This whole time I've just been scared! The worst thing that even my strongest animal could do was pierce the jerk's ear, and I've been scared, and feelin' sorry for myself 'cause I couldn't do anything more to hurt him! Well that's stupid! I'm tired of it!_

"_Whenever I get angry my powers've gone outta control! I've been dragons, monsters, but I could never control it before! Well, it's time to man up! If I can't fight to save my friends, then I don't deserve to be on this team!"_

Green skin stretched as Beast Boy grew larger than any form he had ever assumed before. He screamed in pain as his body assumed a humanoid form. His feet hardened into hooves, two extra eyes opened in his forehead, and a set of massive antlers grew out of the top of his head.

Beast Boy had transformed into a perfect copy—ignoring the color—of Trigon the Terrible!

_Beast Boy: "I…I feel so dirty…"_

"I said, leave him alone!" repeated the Titan-in-monster-form as he dashed forward, throwing a right hook with his now-massive hand. The punch landed with a sick thud on the side of Trigon's head, sending red-hot spit flying from his mouth!

Trigon slid backwards, and rubbing his jaw, he glared hatefully at Gar. "Blasphemer," he growled, "You dare imitate Trigon the Terrible?"

"Yeah," replied Gar, "Yeah, I guess I do! Are ya' gonna kick me outta the choir boys for it? 'Cause that'd _suck_!"

_Beast Boy: "That's it Gar, keep 'im distracted! Don't let 'im see how much this _hurts_!"_

"Laugh while you can!" yelled Trigon as he burst forward, throwing an uppercut into Gar's stomach. It nearly knocked the wind out of him. "You may have imitated my body, but you do not have my dark power!"

Garfield frowned, but, gritting his teeth, managed to catch Trigon's next punch and respond with a kick straight to Trigon's crotch! Seething, Trigon dispensed with words altogether and simply launched a powerful blast!

Pivoting on one foot, the changeling barely span out of its deadly path!

_Beast Boy: "Maybe…maybe that last hit wasn't such a good idea…"_

Across the bay, Wally West finally found the energy to pull himself to his feet. Groggy, it took a second for his vision to return—the first sight he saw was a second Trigon, this one green, engaging the original in a heated fight!

For a brief moment, he was afraid he'd lost his _mind._

Finally he saw Robin, again coherent and back on his feet. The speedster dashed to his side.

"Is that _Gar_?" asked Wally as he skidded to a stop. His intense gaze on the battle, Dick only nodded. "Man!" exclaimed Speed. "Who'd of thought he had it in him?"

Dick didn't answer, and it only brought an even _more_ urgent question to Wally's mind. "Do…do you think he can _win_?"

"Not unless Gar can use those eye beams too," answered Robin. "An' I don't think he can. Besides that, look at him. Gar's sweatin', tired, but despite everything we've done to Trigon, he's only gotten f-ing stronger!"

Suddenly, as Garfield threw a punch, Trigon caught it and countered, striking the changeling's chest with his open-palm. Gar's head flew backwards, all the air knocked from his lungs.

_Beast Boy: "Usin' that form, I was too big…I felt like a rubber band bein' pulled as far as it could go, and when he hit me, the rubber band broke!"_

Instantly Gar shrank, his costume ripped and torn and blood flying from his mouth, before his body exploded backwards, nearly disappearing over the horizon.

Shifting her attention at this turn of events, Lilith now focused on retrieving the rest of the energy that lay within Beast Boy. Not even realizing it, she stood—and Raven's body followed suit, floating just a few inches above the ground, overflowing with more and more power by the second.

_Omen: "Starfire asked Raven to give humanity one more chance to prove their virtues, and she agreed. By defeating their dark sides, the Titans proved Raven's philosophy wrong—and keeping her promise, she granted them the power to defeat Trigon!_

_ "In fact, the fragments of her Soul Self they purified are only growing stronger the more they fight! Every time the Titans show teamwork, sacrifice, bravery, or whatever else, this power grows! Now our only problem is that the Titans don't have access to it!_

_ "That's where I come in! By connecting to the Titans' minds, I've been able to channel this energy and route it through my body into the only place capable of handling it—_Raven'_s body! With her mind now a blank slate, I can take control of Raven and use her to unleash the finishing blow!_

_ "The Teen Titans, through their courage and heart, have forged a weapon actually capable of destroying Trigon! Now it's up to me to _fire_ that weapon! Hold on, guys! I'll only be…a few…moments…more!" _

If only Robin and Speed could have heard her. They watched with heavy hearts as Gar was sent flying. They could barely believe what was happening. "We're—we're the last ones left!" despaired Wally West.

And suddenly he was gone, exploding into a yellow streak speeding in the opposite direction.

As he circled the globe, Wally found himself nearly back to where he started, watching Beast Boy fall from the sky. Squinting, the Titan stole his teammate's speed—Gar barely even displaced any dust as he hit the ground, while Speed absorbed the stolen momentum and blasted off even faster!

_Speed: "When I came here today, I said that I was either gonna take down this monster, or die trying! Well, it looks like its all come down to this moment!_

"_Hell, if you'd told me a few days ago I would die saving the world with the Teen Titans I'd have thought you were crazy, but here I am…_

"_I only wish Barry and Iris could see me now…"_

Wally circled the Earth thirty times in a second, and with every passing lap he grew faster. Just like earlier, when he had ran into the Speed Force, the environment around the speedster began to warp. As he approached the speed of light, colors started to change. The landscape started to stretch. Lightning started to flash around him, a sure sign he was about to enter the Force. Petering out, he leveled his speed at just under the speed of light.

This time, he didn't _want_ to go into the Speed Force.

It's a fact of science: as a body approaches the speed of light, relativistic effects begin to take over. As Wally had already experienced, visual input begins to change, undergoing something called a Blueshift. However, a more subtle effect also takes place—the body's mass begins to increase toward infinity.

Of course, Wally West could never have explained any of this. All he knew was that the faster he ran, the more wallop his punches packed!

Maintaining this unfathomable velocity, Speed finally deviated from his path and headed straight for Trigon's right leg. Winding up, Wally screamed as he threw a fist of nearly infinite mass straight toward the monster!

The result was probably the closest the world will ever come to seeing what happens when an unstoppable force meets an unmovable object.

Speed's fist collided with Trigon's leg—the impact unleashed a backlash of energy that made the atomic bomb pale in comparison. The speedster's fist actually left an indent in the monster's leg, making him hiss in pain as he slid backwards.

Despite that, however, Trigon definitely made out better.

The second Wally's punch landed, the sheer force of the blow shattered every bone in the Titan's hand to dust. The bone that ran from his wrist to his elbow, the ulna, stabbed through the back of his arm. Wally screamed in pain—and then the backlash hit. Speed was sent spiraling like a poorly thrown football.

As he hit the ground his Speed Force suit shattered, leaving poor Wally West nothing but a red-headed kid in an oversized jersey with a devastatingly broken arm.

Dick Grayson's eyes were wide as he watched his friend flail into the distance like a discarded ragdoll. One by one he had watched his friends fall. They had given everything they had to stop Trigon, but it simply wasn't enough!

In fact, much to Robin's horror, he could see the monster's wounds starting to heal, to regenerate! The Titans had sacrificed everything to stop Trigon! Dick wanted to scream! They had sacrificed everything, yet it wasn't enough!

Lava burst through the ground like geysers. Dick could feel the planet shifting wildly under his feet. There was no more denying it, no more delaying it.

Time had run out.

Trigon actually smiled. He had begun this battle with a cold detachment, a general disdain for everything and everyone not himself, but the more the Teen Titans defied him, the more he began to _hate_. For the first time in his long and destructive life, his job had become _personal_.

"Well?" asked the monster, his voice echoing across the ravished landscape. "Do you intend to fight me too?"

Dick didn't answer.

"How does it feel to know that all your efforts have been pointless? How does it feel to know that I have been correct all along?"

Dick bit his lip.

_Robin: "Ever since I joined this team I've been arrogant. I told my dark side that I can do anything! Hell, I believed it too._

_ "I'm a f-ing moron._

_ "I hoped like hell we could take down Trigon. I gave it everything I f-ing had! I tried to inspire everyone else to fight too! We did everything we could, but it just wasn't f-ing enough!_

_ "I'm pissed, angry as s-! But…but I'm not mad cause we weren't strong enough! Hell, I've never been prouder of us! I mean, look at us! We used to be a team of f- ups and losers! But today we fought the strongest villain _ever_! We didn't whine or hold back or fight with each other—we kicked _ass_!_

_ "No, I'm pissed cause it took Trigon for us to get our act together! I'm pissed cause I've finally got Kory back, cause I'm finally the man I wanna be, and he's gonna take it away from us!_

_ "I guess I _could_ be pissed that Trigon's stronger than us, that all our work was pointless, but why should I be? We did our best! Before today I never coulda admitted it, but there's always gonna be some asshole out there stronger than us! I'm just pissed that we had to face the guy _now_!_

_ "But I'm not gonna be a f-ing baby 'bout it! That'd only make the douche happy! We fought like heroes—that's how we're gonna die!"_

"Well?" beckoned Trigon, beginning to grow impatient. "When Trigon the Terrible asks you a question, you _answer_, insect!"

Dick frowned, and raised his head, staring Trigon dead in the eye.

"Go to Hell."

Trigon wasn't pleased. "Hell is a _paradise_ compared to Trigon's world," growled the monster as his eyes lit up crimson for what would be the final time. "I am done with you. Earth's time has ended!"

_'Robin! Look up!'_

The acrobat gasped as the voice sounded in his head. Suddenly he saw the red sky behind Trigon begin to glow white. He couldn't believe it!

"Holy f-ing s-!" exclaimed Robin. Behind Trigon floated Raven! Her arms outstretched to her sides, her head cocked back, her cloak billowing behind her, Raven levitated behind her father's head! Her eyes glowed white as energy of the same color radiated around her. She shone like a star!

Trigon was just as surprised. He didn't even need to see her—he could _feel_ her.

Spinning, the monster instantly pulled an about-face and launched his attack. The powerful beam, capable of shattering planets at its _weakest_, seemed to stop only a few feet from Raven. As it met with the white light, the beam disintegrated, dissolving into nothingness!

Despite himself, Trigon's jaw nearly dropped to the ground. Sure the Titans had managed to _hurt _him, sure they managed to _dodge_ his beams, but never before had an attack of his been so effortlessly _neutralized_!

"This is _madness_!" cried the monster. "I am Trigon the Terrible! I am the source of all darkness! I will _not_ be stopped! I _cannot_ be _defeated!_"

"God you're stupid!" laughed Robin in sheer disbelief. "I can't believe I figured it out and you didn't!

"_No matter who you are, there's _always_ someone stronger than you, f-head!_"

The second the words left the acrobat's mouth Raven's body shot forward, stopping within inches of Trigon. Her arms rose into the air, and Raven's Soul Self emerged. Taking the form of a massive white bird, the blinding light sucked in Trigon and tore him into pieces, scattering his dismembered molecules into the sky.

After all, as the source of all darkness, Trigon never had a _chance_ against so much light and virtue!

As the monster's last agonizing screams echoed, the pillar of power rose into the sky, parting the clouds. Robin watched in awe as it paused for a second, pulsing with blinding light, before shooting in all directions!

Trigon's petrification wave decimated the Earth in one swift motion—this wave of purified power undid all that damage just as effortlessly.

Titans Tower was completely repaired, and its island restored to its natural beauty. The bay was again full of water. The city was once again lively and robust, with its inhabitants no longer stone statues, now free to continue their day as if nothing had ever happened!

The gaping holes Trigon had punched through the planet were instantly filled, stabilizing Earth's condition. Across the globe, life returned to exactly how it had been in the moments before Trigon was released.

Even the Titans were better than ever! As the light faded, its work done, the seven teenagers found themselves all standing together, reunited on Titans Island!

"Hold on," said Robin, "Weren't we all fighting where the water is? How the f- did we get here?"

"My arm!" Wally West's thoughts were on other matters. "My arm's healed!"

"All our injuries are!" exclaimed Vic Stone happily as he gave his newly repaired body a once over.

"But what happened?" asked Starfire. "How did we get back? How was Trigon defeated?"

"I can explain that." All heads turned as Lilith Clay stepped forward. The Titans listened intently as she explained everything to them. She told them of finding Raven's corpse, of realizing what her promise meant, and of how the Titan's bravery and determination had won the day!

Wally West sighed. "So we won 'cause we fought our dark sides. Guess _I_ didn't help at all then…"

_Speed: "Since I wasn't with the team then, I never _had_ one of those fights!"_

"Actually," replied Lilith, "When Raven manipulated your emotions and made you fall in love with her, it left a small amount of her Soul Self inside of you. By deciding to come here today and fight despite your doubts, you purified that energy as well! You were just as much a part of the final attack as any of the Titans!"

"So we all saved the day?" asked Beast Boy, despite knowing the answer. "We all saved the _world_?

"Sweet!"

"I am just overjoyed that Raven came through for us!" exclaimed Princess Koriand'r happily.

_Starfire: "Indeed, I am so relieved that my faith in Raven was not a waste!"_

"Seriously," smiled Cyborg. "Who'd of thought it?"

"Why are we letting her off the hook so easily?" snapped Wally. "Raven gave us the power to win, but Trigon was _her fault_ in the first place! She hated us, she _manipulated_ us! I don't know if I can forgive her that easily!"

An awkward pause hung in the air for a second before Gar Logan spoke. "Dude, you're right. Raven hated our guts enough to destroy the whole freaking _world_, but she gave us a chance to change her mind anyway! That's…that's pretty cool, actually."

_Speed: "I guess I never thought of it that way. We managed to convince the most cynical girl on Earth to give us a second chance to prove her wrong…that's actually pretty _huge_!"_

"I have to admit, I'm still a little mad at Raven myself," said Donna Troy. "But still, today we _saved the world_. The last thing I want to do is be mad at anyone. I'm just happy to be alive!"

Her teammates shared her sentiments, each one having come to a new appreciation of life after coming so close to losing it all. Still, Wonder Girl wasn't finished.

"But before we move on, I just wanted to tell you guys that I'm really proud of you. We came through today in a way I never thought we could. I may have complained about you guys in the past, or put this team down in comparison to the Justice League, but I was wrong about _everything_. I could not be _prouder_ to be a Teen Titan!"

_Starfire: "And I could not be prouder of _Donna_ for opening up to us like that!"_

_ Speed: "And after everything that happened today, I thought I couldn't _be_ surprised anymore! God, that's…that's actually pretty touching. _Donna_, of all people…I guess anyone can become a good person. I sure hope _I've_ become one too…"_

_ Wonder Girl: "Seriously, though, had you told me when I first joined the team that the Teen Titans would save the world, I'd never have believed it! But I underestimated us. I underestimated _myself_!"_

"You know, I still have one regret," said Kory sadly. "Raven died still thinking that all people were evil! I wish she could have lived to see us prove her wrong! I wish she could have lived to see how wonderful people really are!"

Suddenly smiling, Lilith Clay pointed to the sky. "Starfire…you may just get your wish after all."

All eyes looked to the sky, where a small pinpoint of white light twinkled like a star—just as Raven's body had before annihilating Trigon. Floating in front of Titans Tower, it slowly lowered until it touched down, and the light faded away.

Standing there before the Titans was a girl, about thirteen years old. She had short violet hair that fell to her shoulders, and a red jewel in the center of her forehead—just like Raven had. She wore a leotard covered in a flowing cloak, with a hood hanging from its back—while almost identical to the garments Raven had worn, they differed in one important area. They were _white_.

She was pale, but not the sickly shade of gray that Raven had been—also, unlike the empath, she had only two eyes, and they reflected, not evil, but _confusion_.

Still, despite any differences, the similarities were _uncanny_.

"Raven?" tentatively asked Starfire. "Raven? Is that you?"

The girl looked at the Titans with her mouth agape, her confusion only growing.

"I…I don't know…"

Next time: Series Finale!


	27. Series Finale!

_**Author's Notes: **__Alright guys, here it is: the COMPLETE Final Chapter, finally finished and posted the way it was meant to be read! Sorry it's so long, but it should be very worth it! I thank all of you for reading along with me so long despite my horrible timing. I've been watching the views go up, and every one of my readers is awesome! But please: if you like what you see—or even if you don't—leave me a comment and let me know! _

DISCLAIMER: The New Teen Titans were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, and are owned by DC Comics.

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Chapter 27: Series Finale!**

_This is the true story of seven teenaged superheroes, picked to live in a house, fight crime together and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when heroes stop being polite, and start being real. The Real World: Titans Tower._

*****ON THE AIR—TITANS TOWER. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

"Well, there's no doubt about it…she's Raven, all right."

Stretching high into the San Francisco sky was Titans Tower, a massive structure in the shape of the letter 't'. At its base six figures stood in a rough circle, surrounding two more.

A young girl, about thirteen years old, sat on the tower's front stoop, taking in her surroundings with wide eyes. Although there were some major differences—namely her white cloak—the girl shared an uncanny similarity with the Titans' former teammate, Raven.

Attached to the girl's arm were several strange censors and needles—each was connected by a thin-but-sturdy wire to Victor Stone, the half-man, half-machine known as Cyborg. Beeps and buzzes sounded from the Titan as DNA strands scrolled across his mechanical eye's readout.

"Are you sure, Vic?" asked a busty, bronze skinned woman with fire-red hair that fell past her knees. She was Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran—Starfire—and nobody was happier at the prospect of Raven's resurrection than she was. "Is it truly Raven?"

_Starfire: "Raven has done some truly terrible things, there is no denying that…but the others did not know her like I did. She was my _friend_. And if she has a chance to live again, to experience the happiness she never let herself enjoy before, than I am elated for her!"_

"That's what he said, Kory," snapped Donna Troy—Wonder Girl. A slim girl in a red, blue and gold costume, she had been adopted by the all-female warrior race, the Amazons, and was gifted with some of their power. But as she had recently discovered, she had much more to offer than just being an Amazon.

An awkward silence filled the air for a second before Donna realized just how curt she had been—blushing, she lowered her head a bit. "Sorry, Kory. It's just…you _know_ what Raven did to us. I'm just _worried_."

_Wonder Girl: "What part of Raven is this? Is this the Raven that betrayed us? Or the Raven that came through for us in the end, and helped us defeat Trigon? Or is it somebody completely new? She could be our best friend…or our worst enemy. That's…that's pretty scary."_

"Can't blame you." Standing a bit further away than the others, with his arms crossed and a deep frown on his face, was a red-headed boy in a bright yellow costume. He was Wally West—Speed—and his relationship with Raven had been more volatile than all the other Titans' put together.

_Speed: "So she _is_ Raven. _This_ makes things more complicated. Ugh. I'm so sick of being angry at this girl…"_

"S- guys, the chick ain't even said a word yet and already you're acting like it's the end of the world?" Rolling his eyes, Dick Grayson—the acrobat known as Robin—didn't even try to hide his annoyance. "Well I've seen the end of the f-ing world, and this ain't even close!"

_Robin: "I didn't really ever talk to Raven like some of the others, so maybe I dunno what I'm talkin' about here, but Vic didn't even finish his f-in' sentence yet! After finishin' off Trigon, Raven's the last thing I'm worried about!"_

"Yeah, dudes!" added a tiny green boy in a purple and black uniform. He frowned, his pointy ears wiggling slightly, as he turned from his teammates and looked over the shoulder of his best friend, Cyborg. The boy was Garfield Logan—Beast Boy—an animal shapeshifter who was _finally_—after 14 long, hard years—gaining some confidence in himself. "At least let Vic finish explaining all this first!"

_Beast Boy: "I mean, if anybody can figure out what happened to Raven, Vic can!"_

Cyborg allowed himself to smirk for a second. "Thanks, Gar," he said, "But you guys are so worried about yourselves that you ignored somethin' really important…"

Pausing, the half-man, half-machine let that sink in for a second. One by one, the Titans realized what they had been missing, and they noticed Raven. The poor girl's eyes were as big as saucers, the fear plainly evident on her face.

She had _no idea_ what was going on, and obviously, the circle of strangers surrounding and interrogating her wasn't helping.

_Cyborg: "Maybe it's just cause I'm a little older than these guys, but I can tell even without all my tech that she's not the Raven we knew. Course, I don't know who she actually _is_ then, but we're scarin' her to death!"_

The Titans were having trouble maintaining eye contact with the girl. The task was growing more uncomfortable by the second. Fighting thieves, murderers and monsters? That had become second nature. But handling a situation as delicate as this? _That_ was something new and unexplored.

Standing further back from the rest of the group was a young, redheaded woman in a red and black sweater and mini-skirt. She was Lilith Clay, the telepath known as Omen, and while the Teen Titans were busy debating, she was using her abilities to probe Raven's mind.

_Omen: "I'm not a computer, so I can't argue with Cyborg; she _must_ have Raven's body. But this girl _isn't_ Raven, at least not the Raven we knew."_

_ 'Don't be afraid, guys. She's not evil. We _have_ to tell her about herself.'_

Lilith's voice echoed inside the heads of the six Titans, immediately pulling them into her telepathic conference call—the perfect way to keep their conversation from Raven. _'What do you mean?'_ asked Wonder Girl, cutting to the chase. _'Did you read her mind? What did you find?'_

_'Nothing,'_ replied Omen with a mixture of both relief and sadness. _'Raven's mind must have really died when she unleashed Trigon. When we purified her power and returned it to her body, she must have been reborn—it even managed to de-age her _body_ slightly. But seriously, believe me, I searched every inch of her brain, and there's just no memories older than a few minutes. She has a whole new _soul_, crazy as that sounds.'_

_ 'No crazier than anything else we've seen today,' _deadpanned Dick.

Cyborg scratched his chin. _'But do we really wanna tell her about her past? The girl's a blank slate—findin' out she nearly destroyed the world in a past life could push her right down the same path!'_

_ 'You are forgetting she is an empath,'_ interjected Koriand'r. _'She already knows we are hiding something from her! If she does not think she can trust us, would that not be just as likely to turn her evil?'_

Despite a nagging feeling in his stomach—guilt at constantly being a stick in the mud—Wally West still felt compelled to chime in. _'I'm more worried about us being able to trust _her_ than about her trusting _us_, if that makes any sense.'_

_ 'We could debate this in circles all day,'_ thought Donna, sighing. _'We need to just take a vote.'_

_'Aren't we too young to vote?'_ added Gar with a chuckle.

_Speed: "He's got a point. We're old enough to fight monsters and psychopaths and air our lives on TV, but not to smoke, drink or vote. America, people!"_

For once, Donna wasn't ashamed to crack a smile at the changeling's joke—but considering the severity of the matter, she still moved right past it. _'All for telling Raven her past, say—'_

The adopted Amazon never got a chance to finish her sentence. Suddenly their telepathic chat-room was inundated with a crippling burst of raw emotion. Fear and anxiety overwhelmed them, breaking the Titans' concentration and returning them to reality.

Raven was crying, her eyes red; she was surrounded by the faint, ethereal white glow of her Soul Self, but the aura was so small that its use seemed mostly unintentional and instinctual.

_Wonder Girl: "Of course, Raven's an empath. She couldn't tell what we were saying, but it's like Kory was telling us—she knew we were hiding _something_. She _really_ wants to know…I wish I could just tell her how awful the story really is…"_

"I'm sorry," said the tiny, pale girl, trying not to sob. "I—I didn't mean to intrude, really. But…but all of you know something about me. You're hiding something, and it makes you fear me, or worry about me, or even simply happy to see me, but you _know_, and I…

"I _don't_.

"I don't know _anything_ about myself! You say my name is Raven, but, but it just doesn't mean anything to me. And so I sit here and I can feel what you feel, and somehow I know that you feel happy or scared, but I have no _idea_ what _I_ feel. I don't know _anything_.

"So I'm begging you, please, _help me_."

The Titans didn't know what to say.

_Beast Boy: "I'm not, I'm not crying! Seriously! It's just, just the onions! Yeah, onions!"_

_ Speed: "She sure is eloquent for only being five minutes old. She's got that in common with the old Raven. But I knew the old Raven maybe better than _anyone_, and the more I hear this girl talk, the more I know she _isn't_ the old Raven. She's just too sincere!"_

Looking back and forth, Dick Grayson was growing impatient. "S- guys, we don't need to take some vote like we're a f-ing school counsel. I think that if we've learned anything from bein' together all this time, it's that we need to be honest with each other, right? Cause sometimes the truth really does suck ass, but keeping secrets is definitely gonna start something no matter how bad it is!"

Robin's teammates stood dumbfounded for a moment at his profound—if profane—sentiment. "Did you get that from a fortune cookie or something?" marveled Gar Logan.

"He's right, though," said Lilith Clay, not waiting for anyone's permission to walk up to Raven. She got down on one knee, looking the tiny empath dead in the eye.

_Omen: "Despite everything we've been through together, I still don't know the Titans all that well. It…well honestly, it felt a little presumptuous to do anything about Raven without their permission. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I _had_ to act. I owed it to Raven!"_

"My name is Lilith. Please, don't be afraid."

"I'm not," replied Raven, who quickly added, "I think."

The telepath smiled. "Good. I just wanted to tell you that you're right—we do know about your past…_kinda_." Raven raised an eyebrow. "Your name _is_ Raven, but truthfully, you don't really have a past. When you first met us, that was when you were _born_.

"But in a past life, another version of you was a teammate of the Titans here. That Raven…she wasn't always the best person."

Raven's didn't gasp in horror, but instead a slow look of sadness came across her face. "I was evil?"

"Not exactly," replied Lilith, despite that little fact being rather subjective. "And remember, it wasn't _you_. Anyway, I can show you some of your past life, through your teammates eyes."

"You can?" Raven's eyes lit up with childlike enthusiasm.

Nervously biting her lip, the telepath continued, "Yes, I can. But I just want to warn you, it's not going to be all pretty."

The violet haired girl took a second to think. "I understand. Pretty or not, it's still better than nothing."

Lilith swallowed and rested her palms against Raven's temples. "Then here we go…"

Suddenly several months' worth of memories flooded into Raven's brain. In a matter of seconds a whole lifetime played before her eyes—Trigon and her mother, Azarath and its destruction, the plot to punish Earth, and even more mundane details like her relationships with Wally and Koriand'r.

No matter what the tiny empath told Lilith, she simply wasn't prepared for memories of that magnitude. Truthfully, who _would_ be?

With a gasp she jerked out of the telepathic trance, jumping backwards and away from Omen's grip. "That…that was more than _not pretty_! I almost destroyed the world!" No longer able to contain her already-fragile emotions, tears started to run down Raven's face.

"That wasn't _you_!" insisted Lilith—but Raven couldn't even hear her. She was still too engrossed in the horror picture she'd just witnessed.

"I…I don't belong here," cried Raven as her Soul Self burst to life around her. "I don't deserve to be here!"

Her Soul Self enveloped the girl, filling the air in the shape of a bird before disappearing entirely—and taking Raven with it!

"Was…was that supposed to happen?" asked Beast Boy as he nervously glanced towards the sky.

_Beast Boy: "No joke, I was half expectin' Trigon to pop up again or somethin'!"_

Wasting no time in tapping into the detective training received from his young counterpart, Robin turned to Kory and asked, "Where would she go, babe? You have any idea?"

The alien was ashamed to admit it. "No, actually…I do not…"

_Starfire: "Raven may have been my friend…but I suppose I never truly knew her all that well…"_

"She's not anywhere in the city," piped in Speed; in the blink of an eye he had searched every square inch of the metropolis, barely even showing any signs of ever having moved at all besides a slight blur, a few random sparks of electricity arcing off his suit, and some displaced sand beneath his feet. "Or the country, for that matter."

Again, it never appeared like Wally even moved—yet his words proved otherwise as he returned from a third search almost before he even left. "Oh, and for good measure I searched Transylvania. Seemed like a place Raven would fit in. Not there either."

_Speed: "It's a real place! Who knew?"_

"She's in Azarath." The tone of Lilith's voice was absolutely certain.

Gar moved to say something, but the telepath cut him off. "No, I don't know how I know, but I do."

_Omen: "Have my powers ever made complete sense? Sadly, no."_

"Azarath?" asked Wonder Girl. "Isn't that where Raven said she was born?" The adopted Amazon paused for a second, mulling the situation over. "Can we get there?"

"_I _can," replied Lilith.

"Then, _please_," begged Koriand'r, "Bring her back."

The telepath stood still for a second before replying. "Do you all feel that way?"

"Yeah, we do," spoke Cyborg without a moment's hesitation. "We can't just abandon her. She's not evil; she's just a little girl!"

Lilith Clay closed her eyes and focused on Raven's mind; the air around her began to twist and distort as she started to pull herself towards the empath. "Good," she said with a smile. "But the one you _really_ need to tell that to is _Raven_, not me."

*****AZARATH—BETWEEN DIMENSIONS*****

Azarath had once been an amazing place, filled with wonders unimaginable. It was designed to be a haven, a world of peace and understanding.

Instead, it simply laid in ruin.

Floating above the decimated city was Raven. The tiny Titan remained silent as she stared down; she paid no attention to the psychedelic sky of the altered world, instead focusing intently on what remained of Azarath.

After a few short moments—which stretched on like an eternity to the girl—she levitated towards one of the many boulders orbiting the city. Sitting down on the rock, she pulled back her cloak and revealed a face still covered in tears.

Unable to take it anymore, Raven broke down. Sobbing, she cradled her head in her own hands.

_Raven: "This is all _my_ fault…_I'm _the one who destroyed Azarath. I nearly destroyed the _world!_ But you know what's the worst part? I can't even remember doing it!_

_ "The only memories I have of my life at all were shared with me by the Titans, and in a way, I wish I didn't even remember _that_! They say I'm not the same person anymore, that I'm not the girl that nearly ruined everything…and maybe I'm not. But I have her DNA. I share her name. And whenever the Titans look at me, they can't help but to think of her._

_ "I can't escape her legacy. I've only just been born and already I have a reputation—I'm ashamed of a past I didn't even live!"_

Suddenly Raven sensed something that hadn't been found in Azarath for quite some time: _life_. She sensed regret, trepidation, and determination, and turned to find Lilith Clay standing behind her.

"You followed me?" asked the empath, not even bothering to wipe the tears from her bloodshot eyes. "Why?"

Remaining silent, Lilith simply sat next to Raven and put her arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. The violet-haired Titan didn't quite know how to react.

_Raven: "I can sense the emotions of others, but it doesn't mean I _understand_ them. Lilith's determination made me think she came to take me back, but the overwhelming melancholy it was laced with…that just confused me. I didn't know _what _to expect from her!"_

"Did you come to take me back?" asked Raven between still heavy breaths.

Lilith just pulled her closer. "I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do." Pausing for a second, she added, "So, what _do_ you want?"

For once, there was no hesitation. "I want Azarath to still be alive. I want the Titans to not hate and fear me. I want to not feel guilty for something I don't even remember!"

Again the tears began to flow, and Raven was so upset she didn't even notice when she rested her head on Lilith's shoulder.

_Omen: "Poor Raven. I feel so bad for her. She's only a few minutes old…to have all this thrusted on her when she can barely understand it is a _tragedy_…"_

"You do realize that none of that is your fault, right?"

Raven sniffed and wiped tears from her eyes. "Then why do I feel so guilty?"

Lilith smiled and patted the empath on the back. "Because you're a good person.

You care about Azarath despite having never been here before. You care about the feelings of the Titans. You care about the fate of a world you barely even know. That's the sign of a good person, Raven."

The young girl couldn't help but to smile. It was a small smile, but a smile nonetheless—and most important, it was _genuine_.

_Raven: "As amazing as it seems to me, she's entirely sincere about everything she says…I'm…I'm honestly not sure what to make of it…"_

"S…So…" asked Raven, with more than slight hesitation, "What do _you_ think I should do, then?"

Lilith smiled. "Y'know, it's funny. I first showed myself to the Titans by protecting them from Mr. Jupiter's telepathy. I knew all the answers, and I figured out the secret to beating Trigon.

"What's funny is that, truthfully, everything I thought I knew was a lie. And I never could have discovered the way to beat Trigon without the help of the Titans—honestly, it was _only_ because of their brave souls that we could stop him at _all_.

"But ever since I showed up knowing all the answers, it seems like everybody expects me to be able to do almost anything—like I'm a walking Dues Ex Machina or something! But the truth is, I'm just a girl from a totally normal family who got stuck in a pretty extraordinary situation. The Titans know more about handling this stuff than I _ever_ will."

Crestfallen, Raven asked, "Does, does that mean you don't have any advice?"

"_I_ don't, no," replied the telepath. "Raven, what it comes down to is that you have to decide what to do with your life—nobody else _can_!"

Smiling, Lilith placed one finger against the younger girl's forehead. "But before you do, there's some people a _lot_ smarter than me you've got to hear out."

Faster than the young girl could even dream to comprehend Azarath faded away, replaced by a background of empty white nothingness. Due to her instinctual mystical knowledge, Raven could immediately tell that her mind no longer a part of her body—she had entered Omen's trademark telepathic conference room.

A split-second later, the minds of the six Teen Titans were linked; immediately their astral forms appeared before the two girls, growing less and less surprised each time Lilith pulled the stunt.

_Beast Boy: "Wow. I can't believe it, but I'm actually starting to get used to that!...Cool!"_

_ 'Raven!'_ The second Starfire laid eyes on her reincarnated friend she shot across the space, wrapping the empath in an all-encompassing bear-hug. Despite both of them only being mental projections, the hug still felt real.

_Starfire: "As far as I am concerned, a hug is universal! No matter where we are or what language we speak, it always means the same wonderful thing!_

_ Raven: "Starfire is…amazingly cheerful, pure-hearted, and full of love. Her hug…I almost cried. I admit, I'm getting tired of crying about everything…but at least, this time, they were tears of _happiness_."_

Even as she was released from Koriand'r's arms, Raven didn't have a chance to get in a word edgewise. _'Does this mean you will be returning to the Tower?' _asked the alien, her enthusiasm boiling over. _'Please say yes!' _

_'You…you really want me to come back?'_ Raven was certainly surprised by the revelation; her feelings only intensified as she realized that she no longer felt the fear and distrust from the rest of the team. _'All of you?'_

_'Absolutely!'_ exclaimed Kory.

Bending down on one knee—eye level with Raven—Cyborg smiled. _'Yeah, of course we do!'_

_'Me too,'_ added Donna Troy. _'You've got to understand, Raven…when you first showed up, we didn't know anything _about_ you! Considering how dangerous the original Raven was, of course we were nervous! But now we know _exactly_ who you are—and that's a _good _thing!'_

Again Starfire spoke. _'Indeed! Now, all of us have a new opportunity! I promised I would show the old Raven how wonderful people could be, but she never gave me the chance! Now I get to show _you!_ And Raven, you get a chance not many others get—a second try!'_

_ 'Yeah,' _added Vic, _'This is all about second chances—for _us_. We were too preoccupied with our own problems to see that Raven was suffering. We couldn't help her, but we can help _you_. And I dunno 'bout the others, but _I'm_ not gonna make the same mistake twice!'_

Despite himself, Wally smiled. He was just as surprised as anyone by what came out of his mouth. _'None of 'em are, Raven. I didn't always give these guys the chances they deserved, but despite any appearances to the contrary, the Teen Titans always come through!'_ The speedster chuckled and sarcastically added, _'Believe me, they're not as bad as they look!'_

_Speed: "Man, I'm getting just as sappy as the rest of these guys! Me six months ago would be so embarrassed by how much I've changed…_

_ "_Good_."_

_ Robin: "Holy s-, is that a sense of _humor_ I detect? 'Bout time, Wally!"_

_'Not _bad_?' _ Beast Boy gestured towards his teammates, feigning shock. _ 'These guys are _great_! They're more than just some super heroes, more than just my friends even! These guys are my family!'_

Garfield Logan kneeled, looking Raven in the eye, his enthusiastic smile so strong it was impossible to ignore. _'All of us, Raven, we don't have normal families. But family's about more than whose got the same blood as us. Family is the people that love us and care 'bout us, no matter _what_. You're a part of that Raven, whether you think so or not!'_

_ Beast Boy: "Mom and Dad. Matt. The Doom Patrol. Tara. Vic, Kory, Dick, Donna, Wally, Raven…I've had the best family anyone could ask for. Why am I always complainin' again?"_

Emotions welled in Raven's heart. Words formed in the back of her throat, but she choked trying to get them out.

_Raven: "Everything they're saying…I can sense how _true_ it all is! I feel so relived, like a burden has been lifted from me, yet…yet…"_

_ 'But, so many mistakes…I've made so many mistakes…'_

Starfire immediately opposed this self-pity. _'Raven, you have made _no_ mistakes! That was not you!'_

_ Robin: "That's why I love Kory—the girl always says what she means and always means the best. But in this case? This ain't the way to handle Raven."_

_ 'Doesn't matter,' _said Dick Grayson. _'Raven, the truth is that _everyone_ makes mistakes. You didn't sic Trigon on us, but you _will_ make mistakes later on. Every _one_ of us on this team has f-ed up. I pushed away everyone who actually gives a s- 'bout me. Kory trusted her sister even though she was scum. Donna cheated on her boyfriend. Wally almost sold his soul to a supervillain. Gar got so pissed he _killed_ someone. Even Vic snuck around behind his best friend's back!_

_ 'But we're all still Titans, ain't we?'_ Seven pairs of eyes were glued on Robin in rapt attention as he chuckled. _'I hate to sound like some lame-ass afterschool special, but there just ain't no other way to say it._

_ 'Raven, the only mistake that would _ever_ make us give up on you is if you give up on _yourself_! So stop mopin' around like a baby and come back already, okay?'_

The tiny empath just stared at the acrobat—as her tears finally stopped flowing, her mouth finally upturned into a smile, she still just couldn't find the words to express herself.

That didn't matter, though. The Titans knew what she felt. Robin smiled as he extended his open hand to her.

_'Well? Don't just stand there!'_

Raven chuckled and grabbed Dick's hand. _'Alright! I'm coming back!'_

Immediately Omen's telepathic contact broke, returning Lilith and Raven to the disconcertingly empty airspace surrounding Azarath. Despite the, to be blunt, depressing atmosphere, Raven could still only smile.

Lilith, somewhat overcome by emotion herself, slowly pulled her finger away from Raven's forehead. The tiny empath, however, didn't show the same restraint as she suddenly pulled Lilith close into a tight hug.

"Thank you," whispered Raven.

"You're welcome," whispered back the telepath.

_Omen: "If there's one thing in life I truly love, it's a happy ending!"_

The embrace lasted for only a few moments, but it felt like an eternity to the two girls, both feeling waves of relief wash over them. Finally Lilith stood, taking Raven's tiny hand in hers as she did so. "But the Titans are the ones you really need to thank."

"You're right. I will."

_Raven: "From what I could see, the old Raven…she lost faith in humanity. I may be just a few hours old, but I just don't see how that's possible! Even if the Titans are the only decent people alive, I could never give up, for their sake alone!"_

"Well," prodded Lilith, "Y'think you could give me a ride back?"

"Definitely," answered Raven with a smile—but for a split second her gaze drifted past her friend and to the wreckage of the city still below them. Her joyful expression wavered.

"Raven? Are you okay?"

_Raven: "If I have one regret, it's leaving Azarath demolished like this. I promise, one day I _will_ be back to rebuild. Not to atone for any mistakes I may or may not have made—but because it's the right thing to do!"_

"I'm great," answered the empath. From deep inside herself a white light sprang to life, enveloping both Titans within its immense power. Unlike the previous Raven's Soul Self, which took the warlike shape of a bird of prey, this new Soul Self was much closer to the shape of a peaceful dove as its wings spread into the dark sky.

"Let's go home."

*****TITANS TOWER. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA*****

Since the end of their conversation with Raven, the Titans had waited in rapt attention for the return of their new teammate. It only took a few moments; all six of the teenaged heroes couldn't help but to smile as the empath's Soul Self appeared, suddenly bursting to life like a geyser exploding from the ground.

As Lilith and Raven emerged, Starfire was the first to take action—as always. "Raven!"

The alien burst forward, her arms spread wide—but her target beat her to the punch. Raven levitated into the air, through Koriand'r's open arms, and latched herself around the larger girl's neck.

"Koriand'r!" exclaimed Raven.

The other Titans snickered, amused to see Kory beaten at her own game. "Intercepted!" called Gar, chuckling.

"Please," requested the alien, as surprised as the others, "Call me Kory."

"Right. Kory." Raven smiled before letting go, slowly floating backwards until she hit the ground, facing the rest of her team. "Not just Kory, _all_ of you. _Thank you_."

"Eh," shrugged Robin dismissively, "It was nothin'."

_Wonder Girl: "He's _kidding_, right? That was a far bigger ordeal than it needed to be!"_

With their reunion over, an awkward silence fell across the team. There was one question on the mind of each member, one question nobody really had the courage to ask. Finally, it was Raven who spoke up; as an empath, the tension felt even more profound to her, and she felt no need to prolong it.

"So," she asked, "What do we do now?"

_Speed: "Great. I've been trying to _avoid_ answering that since I got my powers back!"_

_Cyborg: "Good question, Raven…good question. There's more at stake here then I can even _begin _to figure out. Jupiter screwed this team over _good_. Even if we make up for the loss of his funding, there's still the matter of whether anyone will even _trust _us anymore. Damn you Jupiter…"_

"I've been tryin' to figure that out myself," finally answered Victor Stone. Extending his arm towards Wonder Girl, he beckoned to her as he started to walk in the opposite direction. "Donna, y'mind bouncin' some ideas off each other for a bit?"

The adopted Amazon seemed slightly surprised. "Yeah, of course!" she replied as she took off, jogging to catch up with her robotic counterpart.

"Man," grumbled Gar good naturedly, "There they go makin' team decisions without us again."

_Beast Boy: "Though it's honestly kinda boring anyway!"_

"I probably shouldn't be a part of it anyway," added Wally West. "I never even officially rejoined the team."

Gar Logan scratched his chin for a second. "Dude, I'd say fightin' with us 'gainst Trigon pretty much made it official, y'know?"

But in the time it took for the green changeling to reply, Speed had already dashed to the far side of the island, where he sat with his head between his knees. Beast Boy sighed. "Man, talk about a drama queen…"

"We should talk to him," said Koriand'r as she started to float into the air. "He needs to know he's as welcome here as everyone else!"

"He knows _that_," spoke up Lilith. "His problem is something entirely _different_."

Looking up at the red-headed telepath, Raven sighed. She knew _exactly_ the problem Lilith spoke of.

_Raven: "Me. _I'm_ Wally's problem…no, I've got to stop doing that. I'm not his problem, Raven is…the _old_ Raven. I can't blame him, though. What she did to Wally…was just cruel."_

Dick Grayson placed his hand on Starfire's shoulder, holding her back. "Wally's got his problems like the rest of us, but the guy's been runnin' off and comin' back over an' over, ever since we started out! Whatever he's gonna do next, he needs to figure it out by himself!"

Smiling, the acrobat ran his hand down the alien's arm, lingering for just a second before grabbing her hand. "'Sides," he continued, flashing his trademark grin, "I wanted to talk to _you_ first anyway."

For a split second, Starfire looked confused—just a split second, though. Immediately afterwards a smile spread across her face, and she squeezed Dick's hand tightly.

"Me too," she said sweetly as she started to lead him away from the group. Dick Grayson could feel his entire body become light with the wonderful feeling of relief.

_Robin: "F- yes!"_

Their newly renewed happiness, however, only served to depress another of their teammates. Hoping nobody noticed him, Garfield Logan shrank into a tiny fly, moving erratically through the air towards the rocky side of Titan Island's coast.

_Beast Boy: "I feel like such a loser. I shouldn't be so upset that they're happy!"_

Finally reaching his destination, the changeling returned to his human form and dropped onto one of the rocks lining one side of the island. He picked up a tiny stone and, after weighing it for a few moments, tossed it into the waves.

The rock skipped across the water five times, but Gar couldn't bring himself to watch.

_Beast Boy: "It feels like everybody's happy again. We beat Trigon, and it looks like Dick an' Kory are getting back together…but it's just not _fair_. Why do we all get happy endings, and Tara just _dies_? She deserved to be happy too!_

"_I know now that it's not my fault. I did everything I could to save her! But I still…I still miss her. It's just not fair! She should be here too! She should be…with me. She should still be _alive_."_

Despite his attempt to disappear, there was no way Gar could hide his sadness from an empath. Raven stood beside Omen—the only other Titan who hadn't already left the conversation—looking back and forth between Speed and Beast Boy, each sitting by themselves on opposite sides if the island.

"They're both so sad…" said the Titan in a slow, soft voice, so quiet it almost came out a whisper. She started to levitate into the air, but unsure who needed her help more, didn't take any further action.

_Raven: "I think there's an expression, 'I feel your pain.' The thing is…I really _do_. Every emotion someone around me feels, I feel it too, like it was mine to begin with. It's why I want to help people so much…because I know first hand how much they _hurt_. The only thing holding me back is…well…who do I talk to first?"_

"I can handle Wally, Raven."

The tiny empath stopped in her tracks. "How…how did you…"

"Like I said, Raven, you're a good person," replied Lilith with a smile. "You're not going to ignore them, obviously. But I don't know whether talking to you right now would help Wally, or just hurt him more. Y'know?"

Raven nodded. "Yeah. I understand." Lilith Clay smiled as she watched the younger girl turn and start floating towards her green teammate instead. "I think I'll see if Gar needs to talk…"

_Omen: "I admit, part of me still feels guilty about not stopping Jupiter sooner. But that's not why I'm trying so hard right now. It's just…I may have only known the Titans for a few hours, but it's been an _eventful_ couple of hours. I feel like I've known them all my life now. They're my friends, and I hope they feel the same way about me. _

"_I just want to see all these guys get the happy ending they deserve."_

*****SPEED AND OMEN*****

"They think you're going to leave again, y'know."

Lilith Clay sat down next to Wally West, the red-headed speedster known as Speed, as he watched the waves crash against the sandy shore of Titans Island.

"And you somehow know I'm going to stay?"

"You forget. I saw your day at school when I linked your mind with the rest of the Titans." Lilith chuckled. "I know you're not going back _there_."

_Omen: "Though, to be fair, the Titans are all celebrities now. I don't think public school would exactly work out all that well for _any_ of them."_

_Speed: "She's got a point. School, hell, being normal in general, it's not what I was making it out to be. As surprised as I am to say it, I think I like this. Fighting for people. Having friends. I was always looking for the thing I needed to make me happy, when all along, I guess all I really needed was to _let_ myself be happy._

"_Just like losing my body didn't mean I needed to be a complete freak, I guess having it back doesn't mean I need to be completely normal. I can find that happy medium, I know it. I can do it here…I think…"_

"No, you're right, high school was a dumb idea," smiled Speed. "I'm sure everybody knew it but me." Looking down, Wally just shook his head. Throughout the entire conversation he hadn't been able to make eye contact with Lilith.

_Speed: "Man this is weird. Talking about my feelings, that's definitely never been me!"_

"I'm all for staying here, really," continued the speedster. "It's just…it's just this _one thing_…"

"Raven," interjected Lilith. Wally chuckled, still not looking up. "It doesn't take a mind reader to figure it out."

"You must get a lot of mileage out of that line," joked Speed.

Breathing out, Lilith looked into the air and sighed. "You have no idea."

_Speed: "Heh, this girl's cooler than I thought she'd be. Oh well. If I'm staying here, I've _got_ to start opening up to people besides Aunt Iris. I guess Lilith's as good a first choice as any!"_

Pausing for a second, Wally finally convinced himself to just come out and say what was bothering him already. "I know that the Raven around now isn't the same one who manipulated me, I really do…but every time I see her, it just reminds me of what the old Raven _did_ to me!"

"It still bothers you?" probed the telepath.

"Of course it does!" exclaimed the speedster. "Maybe it shouldn't! I know the old Raven would never have apologized, and I know I'd have never changed her mind. She was stubborn as hell, nothing I could say would've changed that. I guess…"

Wally's hand balled into a fist as he squeezed a handful of sand between his fingers.

"I guess I just wanted some damn closure!"

Leaning forward, Speed rested his hands on his knees as he finally looked up. His ennui was finally giving way to an emotion a bit more familiar to the speedster—anger!

"Maybe it would've been different if I could've been there, could've talked to her before it all went down, like the others did! But by the time I found out what Raven was, she was already dead!"

Lilith's brow furrowed as she continued her line of questioning. "What did you want to say to her?"

The question stopped Wally dead in his tracks. Several times he tried to answer, but it was like the words were caught in the back of his throat, stuck to the roof of his mouth like peanut butter. His anger—the famed Wally West temper—started to slowly subside, and as he came to a realization, he couldn't even help but to laugh.

"Wow. I don't know." The fastest teen alive laughed again, almost like he was starting to crack up. "I don't even know!"

"Do you still love her?"

_Omen: "Okay, I'm either getting anger or indecisiveness out of this. Which will it be, Wally?"_

Taking a deep breath, Wally opened his mouth, but before his words could even leave his lips, Lilith cut him off.

"And you can't say '_I don't know_.'"

Wally frowned, shut his mouth, and sighed.

_Omen: "Indecisiveness it is!"_

_Speed: "Well, there goes 75% of my answers."_

Still, being shot down was exactly what Wally needed. There were no more maybes. Wally's thoughts ran frantic, Speed Force-fueled laps through his brain, searching for any and all truths about his tragically complicated relationship with the deceased empath.

Finally, after a moment that seemed to last a lifetime, Wally found the answer he was looking for. He smiled, and for the first time in the entire conversation, he turned and made eye-contact with Lilith.

"No." A smile filled the bottom of Wally's face. "I don't love her anymore."

_Speed: "I don't know if using up the power Raven left inside me to attack Trigon did it, or if I just somehow worked through it on my own, but I actually, honestly just _don't love her _anymore!_

_ "I never thought it'd happen!"_

"Then that's your closure right there!" exclaimed Lilith, Wally's enthusiasm rubbing off on her. "Raven's dead, but you're still alive! She did something horrible to you, but you've moved past it! What more could you possible need from her?"

"Well," added Wally with a shrug, "It would be nice if she was actually _alive_ to see it. Gloating would make this a lot better."

Covering her mouth with her hand, Lilith tried to keep from laughing. It didn't work. "Come on Wally, be serious for a second."

"No, you're right…this is good. This is great actually." The tone of Speed's voice was completely genuine. In an instant, however, it switched back to being facetious. "Now I just need an 'I survived Raven' bumper sticker and I'm all set!"

This time Lilith didn't even try to mask her laughter. "And what, you're going to plaster it across your butt?"

"Well, it should finally get me some attention from girls, at least!"

_Omen: "Okay, _this_ Wally I like! I still remember when Jupiter first recruited him…he _scared_ me. He's come a long way!"_

As their laughter died down, Wally added one more point to the conversation. "Thanks for that, Lilith. You're pretty cool."

"That's what I hear!"

"Oh, and I'm totally staying, by the way."

"I never would have guessed!" gasped Lilith, full of good-natured sarcasm. "So, you going to tell the others?"

Squinting, Wally surveyed the rest of the island, and as he observed his teammates, he cringed. "I think I'll wait for everyone to finish up." Pointing to one particular pair of Titans, he added, "I think I'd just be interrupting if I showed up now."

Following Speed's finger, Omen suddenly spotted Robin and Starfire, clutching each other tight and making out. They were so into each other that Lilith wondered how they didn't suffocate.

"Yeah," said the telepath, cringing, "I can see how that might be a little awkward."

"So," asked Wally with a sly grin, "Keep me company?"

"Well," chuckled Lilith, "I guess it's better than being with _them_!"

However, as time passed, neither Wally nor Lilith proved to be very good company. Like drivers that just couldn't help but to gawk at a tragic accident, they just couldn't take their eyes off Dick and Kory! Finally, Speed shot to his feet.

"Oh, would you two just get a f-ing room already?"

The two lovebirds never even looked in Wally's direction, never even let up their epic face-sucking assault. In response, Robin simply extended one arm and raised his middle finger towards his heckler.

Speed couldn't help but to grin and chuckle. "What an ass." Amazingly, it didn't bother him in the slightest.

For the first time in a very, very long time, Wally West was completely, absolutely happy.

*****ROBIN AND STARFIRE*****

"Alright Kory, I just wanted to s—"

Dick Grayson didn't even get to finish his sentence; Kory was on him like a cat on tuna. She squeezed him so tight he thought he was going to break!

_Robin: "Holy f-ing s-, I'll never get over how f-ing _good_ she is at this!"_

_ Starfire: "I missed this. I missed _us_. I am so relieved that we are once again together!"_

"Woah!" Dick finally managed to free himself from the epic embrace, utterly stunned on several different levels. "S-! Holy…just _wow_!"

His alien love just looked confused. "Did…did I do something wrong? I thought you _liked_ when I did that with my tongue!"

"F- yes!" blurted out Robin, barely able to contain himself. Practically blushing, he scrambled to add, "Kory, you didn't do anything wrong! I just thought we were goin' to talk!"

Relieved, Koriand'r smiled and lightly gripped the boy's shoulder. "We can talk later! Right now, I just want to…what is the expression? Make out?"

"Yeah," answered Dick hesitantly. Kory shot the acrobat a puzzled look.

"Dick, is something wrong? Am _I_ doing something wrong?"

_Starfire: "When the world was ending, when we thought Trigon had won, Dick told me he loved me. We kissed! I thought we were back together! Did…did I misinterpret something? I do not want to make Dick do _anything_ he does not want to do!"_

"No!" adamantly objected Robin. "Kory, I love you! I just…I know I f-ed up before, back when you broke up with me. Back with Trigon, I promised I'd tell you _why_ I was bein' such an assh-!"

_Robin: "I thought I _had_ to be a total douche to be a superhero, to keep up with guys that had a billion powers I didn't! I pushed away little Robin, Kory broke up with me…I f-ed up bigger than I ever had in my whole _life_! I've done everything I can to make up for it…and I've even won Kory back…but I just want her to know that I'm _not_ a total ass!"_

"Dick," interjected the alien princess in a calm, yet very firm voice, "That really does not matter to me."

"But—"

"_Dick!_"

He wasn't going to be stopped. "But it matters to _me_!" he insisted. "I f-ed up, and I _hurt_ you, and I…I have to tell you that I'll never do something so g-damn _stupid_ ever again!"

"I know," said Starfire with a smile, completely diffusing her love's anger. "But it is not because you _told_ me. In the time I have spent on Earth, I have learned that humans rarely say what they mean.

"It is because I have see how you have changed, Dick! I can see how hard you are trying, and I am so _proud_ of everything you have done today!"

A grin filled Dick's face, but it wasn't his normal cocky, charismatic smile. It was one of complete relief and sheer gratitude.

"I love you so much, babe."

_Robin: "She's right. We have all the time in the world to talk! For now, I just wanna be with her!"_

This time, the acrobat's heart was completely in it. Wrapped in each others' arms, it was surprising that their kisses didn't shake the entire _planet_.

Between smooches, Dick opened one eye and quickly interjected, "So, I'm guessing this means you're my girlfriend again?" While he was mostly being sarcastic, there was a small part of him that still needed that one, final reassurance.

_Starfire: "Aw, Dick is so adorable when he is being insecure!"_

"Of course," answered the alien, pressing her nose to his. "I am yours…and you are mine."

"That's the best news I've heard all f-ing year!"

Again they kissed, and this time nothing was going to stop them. Even as Wally's faint cry telling them to "get a room" sounded from across the island Dick barely flinched, simply responding by flipping him the bird.

However, a moment later Starfire pulled away, a quizzical expression on her face.

"Wait a second," she said, "I thought we already _had_ rooms!"

*****RAVEN AND BEAST BOY*****

"Hi, Beast Boy."

Garfield Logan, the green animal shapeshifter known as Beast Boy, sat atop a boulder, skipping stones into the ocean and trying to hide the very obvious anxiety he was feeling. It was quite plain that he wanted to be left alone, but Raven—the newborn empath—ignored that unspoken request as she lowered out of the air, sitting down next to the boy.

"Hey, Raven," said Gar softly, doing his best not to let his annoyance show. It didn't take much effort—if there was one thing Beast Boy was good at, it was hiding his sadness.

On the opposite side of the spectrum was Raven. Naïve and inexperienced, her emotions were an open book. Glancing over at the girl, Gar felt a wave of sympathy wash over him.

_Beast Boy: "Great, looks like if I don't play along, I'm just gonna make Raven upset. Heh, I guess she figured _me_ out pretty quick, right? Pissed or not, I'm not the kinda guy who can be a jerk…at least not without makin' myself feel worse…"_

_ Raven: "I feel so sorry for him. I sense so much pain inside of Beast Boy…but I can also tell that he is strong, a lot stronger than he gives himself credit for. He can make it through…he might just need a helping hand."_

Still, the changeling continued in silence as he picked up another small stone and weighed it in his hand. Raven watched in amazement as Gar tossed it into the waves; she was happily surprised to see it skip across the water like a grasshopper leaping through a field.

"That's amazing, Beast Boy!" exclaimed the empath enthusiastically.

The green boy grimaced a tiny bit. "You don't have to call me by my code name, y'know. My name's Gar."

_Beast Boy: "The _old_ Raven, she would _never_ call us by our names. Always freaked me out, though I guess Raven in _general_ always freaked me out, so I guess I don't have much room to talk, when I really think about it."_

_ Raven: "It's odd. In such a short time, I feel like the Titans have become my family, yet I still know so _little_ about them! I hope they're patient with me…"_

"Right, Gar, I'm sorry." Smiling shyly, Raven extended her hand and let a rock—carried by the white power of her Soul Self—fall into her open palm. "Can I try throwing one?"

Gar chuckled, knowing exactly what would happen. "Yeah, knock yourself out."

Winding up, Raven tossed the stone with all her might—and watched it fall into the ocean like an anvil, immediately sinking to the bottom.

The girl blushed. "I guess skipping rocks isn't really my thing…"

Suddenly Beast Boy was at her side, placing another rock into her hands. "Hey, don't worry about it," he said with a reassuring smile. "Everybody sucks at this on their first try. I remember I had to practice for _months_ after Tara first showed _me_ how to do it!"

Immediately the changeling cringed. The good mood that had slowly been building up inside of him instantly vanished.

_Beast Boy: "Great, there's no _way_ Raven missed that. I'm tryin' to cheer _her_ up, an' here all I can do is feel sorry for myself!"_

_ Raven: "Terra…I can't even _begin_ to describe how he felt as soon as he said her name! Whatever is going on…she's at the center of it."_

"Terra, she was the blonde girl, right?" asked Raven. "The one who could move rocks with her mind?"

Gar nodded, all the while trying to avoid looking at his teammate.

"I…I saw what happened to her when Lilith linked our minds," continued Raven in a somber tone. "I'm truly sorry, Gar."

Biting at his lip, the shapeshifter replied with a succinct, "Thanks."

Sitting down beside her teammate, Raven rested her hand on the boy's shoulder. "Are you okay? I don't mean to pry, but…I can tell how much you really _cared_ for her."

"I'm fine," lied Garfield.

_Beast Boy: "I wasn't _trying_ to lie to her, but you know how it is, when somebody asks you how you are, you _always_ say 'fine'! Doesn't matter, though. There's no way I could have held everything inside any longer anyway. I guess, really, I'm glad Raven came over. I thought I wanted to be by myself, but that's just me bein' dumb again! After all those years I spent on my own, I never wanna be alone again!"_

So, with all those emotions swirling inside his head, Beast Boy immediately contradicted himself. "I'm just pissed!" exclaimed the boy. "Tara killed herself when she didn't have to! We could've saved her if she'd just given us a _chance_!"

Raven could only stare at the green boy, wide-eyed, as he continued. "Raven—the old one—she told me that Tara had a death wish, and I didn't wanna believe her, but obviously it's true. Why did she have to be _right_?

"Tara thought she had to die a hero to make up for everything she did…why couldn't she see how dumb that was? She was so ready to give everything up to save me, but she wouldn't let _me_ save _her!_"

Tears erupted from Gar's eyes as he punched the rock he was sitting on, gritting his teeth before yelling some more. "We _all_ would've done _anything_ to help Tara! She was one of us! A Titan! Why didn't she realize that? Why…Why…"

Growing still, Garfield could barely speak, fighting not to choke on the words.

"Why didn't she realize how much I _loved_ her?"

Raven was at a loss for words. She could only watch as the shapeshifter sobbed.

_Raven: "What could I possibly do, possibly _say_ to ease Gar's pain? I realize my life has been short, but I still have never experienced anything so heart wrenching! It tempts me to use my _powers_. With my empathy I could easily erase Gar's sadness, make him happy again…but how long would it last? After seeing how similar manipulation effected Wally, it just doesn't seem _right_."_

So the empath did nothing, letting the awkward moment continue until Beast Boy finally spoke again. "But you know what else? What makes this all even worse?" Raven wasn't sure whether she was supposed to answer or not, but Gar didn't give her a chance anyway.

"What's worse is that bein' angry at Tara only pisses me off _more_! I don't _want_ to feel this way!"

His head hanging low, Garfield Logan just sighed.

"The only girl I've ever loved is dead, and I'm mad at her. Geez."

That's when it finally clicked in Raven's head. She couldn't fix all of Beast Boy's problems, of course—and frankly, she didn't feel it was her place anyway. But she could help him through this moment. Help him move forward. Be there for him, the way he had been there for her when she had ran away from the team.

Sitting next to the changeling, Raven leaned in, attempting to look him in the eyes. "I can sense how much Tara truly meant to you…how much you loved her. She must have really been a wonderful person."

"She was," answered Gar, quickly yet still quietly. Still, for the first time since Raven had arrived, the boy started to smile.

"Then, if you wouldn't mind, could you tell me about her?"

Gar raised an eyebrow. Wiping away the last of his tears, he turned to Raven and cast her a quizzical look. "What?"

"Well, I never got to meet Tara," answered Raven. "I was hoping you could tell me about her…I know it's not the same thing, but still, I want to hear about this wonderful Titan." Smiling, she added, "After all, dead or alive, she's my family too."

Garfield's whole demeanor changed. He smiled, stopped shaking, and sat up straight. "Yeah," he answered, his voice cracking slightly. "I can do that. No problem!"

As he brought to mind all his good times with Terra, Gar smiled even wider. He couldn't _wait_ to share how much she meant to him.

"Wow!" he laughed. "I don't even know where to begin!"

_Beast Boy: "I'll always miss Tara…and I'll never understand why she did what she did. But I just can't stay angry at her forever. I loved her too much! My memories of her are all I have left, and I'm not gonna ruin 'em! The only thing I can do for her now is to share 'em! I'm gonna make sure that Tara is _never_ forgotten!"_

_ Raven: "I can finally sense Gar's spirits lifting. Grief is a long process…but I think he's going to make it out just fine! But I admit, this is a little bit for _my_ benefit too. Hearing Gar talk about Tara…it makes me happy. The more time I spend with the Titans, the more I learn about being human…_

"_So maybe Gar can teach me what it means to _love_."_

*****CYBORG AND WONDER GIRL*****

"Okay, Vic," began Donna, "How bad off are we? Really."

Wonder Girl and Cyborg, two of the smartest and most determined Teen Titans, had sequestered themselves from the group. Isolated, they now had what was perhaps the hardest job of all: picking up the pieces.

"We've definitely got problems," said Vic. "Honestly, if we're gonna keep this team together, then we've got our work cut out for us."

_Wonder Girl: "Hera. After the Fearsome Five, and Jupiter, and Raven, and then Trigon, I was hoping we'd have a moment to _relax_. I haven't even had time to _think_ about the team with all this chaos going on!"_

Still, Donna Troy soldiered on. "We _are_ going to stay together," she stated. "Look at us, Vic. This team is finally a _team_. We make each other better." Crossing her arms and looking more determined than ever, she finished. "So let's figure out what we're doing here."

Victor Stone smiled.

_Cyborg: "I always knew Donna had drive. I guess it's just nice to see her focusin' it on helping us!"_

"The way I see it, there are three major obstacles standing in our way," began Cyborg, reading off a list of problems and concerns scrolling across his cybernetic eye. "First and most important is keeping the show on the air in the first place."

"Wait, hold on," interrupted Donna. "Why would our show be cancelled? Our ratings are off the charts, and I _doubt _MTV cares that subtle brainwashing played a part in them."

Vic was actually a little surprised. "They didn't tell you about the end of the show when you signed on?"

Her eyes growing wide, the adopted Amazon realized she'd been caught with her pants down. "No, I guess they didn't. I never asked."

_Wonder Girl: "When I first joined this team, I considered it a means to an end. Finding my parents, proving my worth…in my infinite naivety, I never imagined even _wanting_ this gig to be permanent."_

"The Real World's been on for decades," explained Cyborg, "And they _never_ use the same cast twice. Using superheroes at all was an experiment, but the execs made sure to let me know that we had one season, just like everyone else."

"And our first season is pretty much over," realized Donna, the truth crashing down on her like a ton of bricks.

_Cyborg: "Sometimes I _hate_ bein' the one who always takes care of the details. It's damn _depressing_. Donna's not makin' me feel any better. But I'm an athlete. I know that right before the finish line, there's _always_ that last bit of pain to work through. But if I give into that pain, it's all over. I've got to keep my eyes on the finish line!"_

"And that brings us to our second major concern," continued the metal-man. "Without MTV, we lose something _very_ important to us."

"_Funding_," interjected Wonder Girl. "_That_ I made sure to look into. MTV funded 50% of our expenses, and Mr. Jupiter picked up the slack and contributed the rest."

_Wonder Girl: "I know it's too late for regrets, but still, it boggles my mind that _none_ of us ever wondered how a creep like Jupiter got his hands on so much money! It's no wonder he fooled us!"_

"Exactly," confirmed Vic. "Jupiter's contributions are gone, and if we lose MTV's money too, then we've got _nothing_." The half-robot laughed. "And unless you've got an Amazonian trust fund you never told us about, ain't _none_ of us got the money to run the Tower on our own."

The adopted Amazon chuckled. "We don't exactly have money on Themyscara, at least nothing that would help here." Thinking for a second, she continued, "What about a sponsor? Any ideas on that front?"

"I've got a couple," replied Cyborg as he eyed his options in the corner of his readout. "Not sure how happy I am with those prospects, though," he added hesitantly.

"There's always the Justice League," suggested Donna halfheartedly, "Though I'm even _less_ happy with that idea."

_Wonder Girl: "The League could run our Tower ten times over with just their spare change, there's no arguing that, but honestly, I just don't want to have to turn to them. For all their good intentions, the League makes me feel like a little kid sometimes, and I'm just not ready to return to that!"_

"That's if the League even trusts us in the first place," lamented Victor Stone.

"I'm guessing that's our third major obstacle?" As her teammate nodded in agreement, Donna crossed her arms. Her eyebrows arched in anger—not towards her cybernetic friend, but just towards the situation in general. "So, a former teammate and our manager betray us, and now we're blacklisted? We didn't do anything wrong!"

Cyborg sighed. "Obviously, but Jupiter and the old Raven _still _screwed a lot of people over. We don't know how everybody _else_ is gonna take it." Hesitantly, the metal-man gestured towards Beast Boy and Raven, sitting by the shore. "_I_ trust her, and I'll _fight_ for her, but having _any_ version of Raven on our team ain't gonna win us any brownie points either."

_Wonder Girl: "Poor Raven. She's done nothing wrong, yet everybody's first instinct is going to tell them not to trust her. That's not fair."_

Vic pressed a button on his wrist, and a holographic screen came to life, displaying footage of the Titans fighting Trigon—footage taken directly from the cameras circulating through each of the seven teens. "Fortunately, we've got everything that went down caught on film. That should help us some, but I guess it depends on how _mad_ people really are."

Thinking for a second, Donna managed to crack half a smile. "I have an idea I've been thinking about for a while now—if we put our heads together, we might be able to spin it into something that will help our reputation." Cracking her knuckles, her lips formed the other half of that smile and asked, "So, is that it for our topics of discussion? Ready to get down to the details?"

Looking nervous, Victor Stone hesitated a second before he spoke. "There was one more thing I wanted to mention. A question I had, for you, Donna…"

_Cyborg: "It's something I noticed fightin' Trigon—something so obvious, I _know_ Donna noticed it too. But that don't mean I'm completely comfortable askin' her, even with her new and improved attitude…not something this delicate."_

"Vic, please, don't be afraid to ask me anything!"

_Wonder Girl: "Finding out I used to _scare_ my teammates was a huge blow to my ego. If there's one thing I want to make sure of from now on, it's that I'm approachable! Maybe that's not my nature, but I'm working on it, slowly but surely!"_

Swallowing, Victor stone mustered up his confidence.

"Donna…do you still want to lead this team?"

*****A LITTLE WHILE LATER*****

So, time passed. Robin and Starfire held each other so closely that they almost fused into a single being. Speed ran to Belgium and picked up waffles for himself and Lilith. Wonder Girl and Cyborg sorted out details, made phone calls, and hammered down a plan that might just keep the team running. Beast Boy reminisced, telling tales of his beloved Terra to a clearly enthralled Raven.

After such an eventful day, the peace was exactly what the Titans needed.

Alas, they knew it wouldn't last forever.

Moving across San Francisco Bay at Mach 8 was a scrawny boy in a white and red uniform. His massive mane of hair billowed behind him as his oversized feet slapped against the surface of the water, kicking it up into streams behind him. A gleeful grin filled his face as the T-shaped tower approached in the distance.

The boy was Impulse—Bart Allen—grandson of the Flash and the cousin of Wally West. A time-stranded speedster practically ignorant to the concepts of danger, patience, and self-control, Bart had joined up with a team of wannabe heroes known as Titans East and was present when Trigon's attack began. It appeared he was returning to see the outcome!

"WALLY!"

Barreling into his cousin at speeds _far_ too dangerous for a head-on-collision, Impulse tackled Speed and embraced his fellow speedster in a tight bear-hug. Startled, Wally shrieked slightly and fell to the ground beneath the younger boy. The force of the impact burst across the island like a sonic boom, blowing Lilith over and scattering their waffles to the opposite shore.

_Speed: "God, what a waste of food. Eating was one of the things I missed most about not having a body, and now that I'm doing so much running, I need it even more!"_

"What're you _doing_, Impulse?" asked Wally angrily as he tried to climb out from beneath his enthusiastic relative. The big-haired boy started to answer, but suddenly his miniscule attention span was diverted as he noticed the suit his cousin was wearing.

"Woah!" exclaimed Bart as he jumped back, admiring the Speed Force fueled costume. "Cool suit!" Afterimages filled the air as Impulse dashed around Wally, checking out the suit from every imaginable angle. "This mean you got your powers back?"

"No," deadpanned Wally. "I just think yellow's my color."

_Speed: "I don't know what annoys me more about Impulse: his personality, or the fact that, if I had superspeed at _his_ age, I'd have been just _like_ him."_

"What's going on over here?" Roused by the Titan East-er's grand entrance, the rest of the team came running towards the two speedsters. As Donna helped Lilith to her feet, Beast Boy took stock of the situation and laughed giddily. "Was that _Wally_ screaming like a girl? Please tell me that was Wally screaming like a girl!"

"Impulse!" Much to Wally West's relief, Starfire pulled Bart away from him, encompassing the tiny boy within one of her trademarked, nearly back-breaking hugs. Not surprisingly, he was one of the few people who didn't seem to mind.

"Aw," lamented Robin jokingly as he, followed by the rest of the team, approached the rapidly growing gathering. "You're hugging other guys _already_?"

Despite his relief at seeing Bart alive and well, Victor Stone skipped over the formalities. "Impulse, where's the rest of Titans East?"

_Cyborg: "We got separated from them right in the middle of the fight with Jupiter! I'm surprised they haven't shown up already!"_

Vibrating his molecules, Impulse slipped through Koriand'r's grasp—much to her surprise—and dashed to the metal-man's side.

"I guess they're still on Alcatraz," said Bart with a shrug. "I ran off to find Flash before I got chased by that crazy big wave! Did you guys have something to do with t—" Impulse stopped mid-sentence, jumping, having suddenly remembered something very important.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, spinning, "Where _is_ Flash? He was right behind me!"

However, the Titans really didn't have time to ponder where the scarlet speedster had disappeared to. Almost immediately the team was distracted by the overwhelming, echoing sound of a trumpet blaring.

It was the Herald's Gabriel Horn, and just a second later a portal opened behind the team. Stepping through was the rest of Titans East: Flamebird, Arsenal, Bumblebee, Magenta, and the Herald himself.

"You're alive!" exclaimed Bette Kane as she dashed towards her friends, overjoyed. "I half-expected you all to be dead!"

Flamebird made a beeline for Robin, leaping onto the boy and latching her arms tight around his neck.

_Robin: "Times like these, I wish I had some f-ing Jaws of Life in my utility belt..."_

"You...you can get off now..." grunted Dick awkwardly.

"Guess that means you guys _did _handle Raven all on your own," realized Mal Duncan as he pulled his horn away from his lips, closing the portal behind him. Surprisingly, the ex-thug smiled. "Cool."

"What _was_ that wave that swept across the world?" inquired Karen Beecher, examining on her goggles what little footage Star Labs had managed to capture of Trigon's attack. "The scientific community has never seen _anything_ like that before!"

Victor Stone scratched his head and sheepishly replied, "And hopefully, they never will again. It's...It's gonna take a _while_ to explain..."

Frances Kane, however, wasn't interested in the attack. She was focused on only one thing as she walked through the group. She was trembling slightly, unable to believe her eyes. "Wally?" she asked. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, Fran," smiled the speedster. "It's me. I…I got my body back!"

_Speed: "Seeing Fran…brought old feelings back. We've both been through so much…and Fran was right. As much as it sucked, as awful as _I_ was, I've only gotten stronger because of it. Maybe we can make this work!"_

Looking her childhood love up and down, Magenta's lip quivered. Suddenly she leapt forward, nearly tackling Wally, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. The Titan caught himself and steadied his stance—he was the only thing keeping the girl up! Burying her head in his shoulder, Fran wept tears of joy.

"I'm so happy for you!" she exclaimed between sobs.

Smiling, Speed returned the embrace.

"It's good to see you, Fran."

"We'll have time for reunions later," grumbled Roy Harper as he leaned slightly, letting his longbow slip off his shoulder, down his arm, and into his hand. "Where's Raven? You _beat_ her, right? My bosses at the DEO are gonna be the only ones who can hold somebody as powerful as _her_."

Before anyone could reply, Impulse zipped behind the line of heroes, finding the reincarnated Raven near the back of the crowd, trying to blend in inconspicuously. "Is _this_ Raven?" cried the tiny speedster as he dashed all around her, investigating the empath, even sticking his head under her cape for a split second. "It _looks_ like her, except, minus all the creepy parts..."

Suddenly a green chimpanzee was on Bart Allen's back. Startled, the big-haired boy tripped, and Beast Boy used it to his advantage, growing to his human form and pinning Impulse to the ground.

_ Beast Boy: "Man, there's not too many people you can push around when you're as short as me! Guess you've met your match, Impulse!"_

"Leave Raven alone!" commanded Gar Logan, speaking to the Titans East in general as much as to Impulse.

"That...that _is_ Raven?" Arsenal's confusion quickly turned into anger. He started to reach for his quiver. "Why is she free? She tried to _kill_ us!"

Before the archer could make another move, Cyborg came falling from the sky, landing between Roy and Raven, his arms stretched wide to intercept any attack.

"Back off, Harper," barked Vic. "You don't know what happened yet."

Leaping backwards, Roy Harper quickly strung an explosive-tipped arrow and aimed it straight for the robotic Titan's chest. "What, did she brainwash you or something? Manipulate you into feeling _sorry_ for her?

_ Raven: "I knew others would be suspicious, _fear_ me the way the Titans did at first...but I think I underestimated how much it would_ hurt_. Arsenal hit a sore spot. Manipulation like that is something the _old_ Raven would have done...and I'm _not_..._her_..."_

"I would never do that!" exclaimed Raven, her passion alone taking Titans East by surprise. No matter what she was feeling or saying, they had never heard Raven that invested in _anything_ before! "I would never manipulate anyone...hurt anyone..."

"Yet I watched you murder a man in cold blood," growled Roy as he shifted his stance, making Raven his new target. "So forgive me if I don't really believe you..."

Before Arsenal could make any moves, however, a red, blue, and gold streak intervened. Donna—suddenly standing only inches away from her former one-night-stand—swiped the arrow from Roy's hand and crushed its explosive head.

"That's enough, Roy," she said, clearly fed up with the situation. She opened her balled fist, letting the shattered remains of the arrow fall to the ground. Soot covered her palm, and a small wisp of black smoke escaped into the air. If Wonder Girl felt any pain, she certainly didn't let it show. "It wasn't her."

Completely deflated, Arsenal lowered his bow. The members of Titans East looked back and forth at each other, thoroughly perplexed. It was finally Flamebird who spoke up.

"Wait...she's Raven...but she didn't do the things Raven did?" Scratching her chin for a second, Bette finally shrugged her shoulders and admitted defeat. "That makes less sense than...than...than something that doesn't make much sense!"

Finally Lilith stepped forward. "Guys, I'm not easily manipulated, not with my powers. Trust me. It's a complex story, but it's true." She put two fingers to her forehead. "I can show you the entire thing, if you want."

"Sorry I'm late!" A new voice entered the conversation, speaking at a jumbled, frantic pace and completely derailing the topic at hand.

Every head turned. The new voice belonged to a man clad from head to toe in scarlet tights. He wore yellow boots, and streaks of yellow in the shape of lightning bolts formed his belt and gloves. Golden wingtips stuck out from the sides of his cowl. In his arms he held a smartly dressed woman who looked to be in her early-to-mid thirties.

"Flash!" Yes, he was Barry Allen, the Flash, Wally West's uncle and Impulse's grandfather. "Where'd you run off to?" inquired Bart impatiently. "I thought you were right behind me!"

"I was," replied the Flash with a smile. "But then I saw Wally in that suit...and decided to pick up somebody I thought would really enjoy seeing him."

That somebody was the woman in his arms, and Wally West realized that before the words even left his uncle's mouth. "Aunt Iris!" Instantly Iris was gone, whisked away from her husband by a yellow streak.

"Hey, Wally," smiled Iris Allen. "I like the costume." Chuckling, she added, "I have to admit, though, this wasn't what I was expecting from your first day of school!"

"Yeah," admitted Wally sheepishly. "School didn't go as planned. A lot of things changed today, Aunt Iris, but I've finally decided! I'm staying here, a Titan again!"

_ Speed: "All throughout this entire ordeal, Aunt Iris was my sounding board, my conscience, the only person I bothered to listen to. She put up with so much angst and indecision from me. I owed it to her to make this final decision!"_

"You're sure?" asked the reporter.

"Totally," smiled Wally.

As tiny tears started to well up in her eyes, Iris pulled her nephew close, embracing him. "Way to go, kiddo."

For better or for worse, the other Titans had slightly different priorities. "'Scuse me Flash," inquired Dick Grayson, "But why did you say you were late?"

"Well, um," stammered Flash, "Your teammates invited me—they invited the whole Justice League, actually." Suddenly a thought stuck the scarlet speedster. "They're not here yet, are they?"

Dick shook his head no. Barry Allen cheered silently. This was quite possibly the first time in his entire life he had _ever _been early! Iris did her best to contain a smile.

"Hold on," interjected Wally, "The League's coming? What? Why?"

As if on cue, a spot in the sky started to shimmer and shine.

_ Speed: "Well, I guess we'll find out."_

_ Beast Boy: "Woah, it's the League teleporter! I used that thing once, at Animal Man's house! Ridin' in it makes ya wanna barf!"_

It took only a second for the teleporter to do its job. As the light died down, a group of nine Justice Leaguers had appeared as if out of thin air. Joining the Flash were Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Martian Manhunter, the Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Green Arrow, Zatanna and Animal Man.

"Great," whimpered Donna Troy, holding onto sarcasm even as her heart fell into her stomach. "Kyle."

_Wonder Girl: "Of all the Leaguers that could've come...they choose Kyle..."_

While most of the Titans had come across the League at one point or another in their career, the few who hadn't were appropriately awed. Bumblebee's mouth gaped open as she moved her gaze from hero to hero, looking them up on her computer. Flamebird, ever the fangirl, wasn't quite as restrained; she squealed out loud, jumping up and down in excitement. The Herald's arms were crossed, his face wearing his usual grumpy expression, but it was obvious that even he was impressed, despite how much he tried to hide it.

"Isn't this great, Wally?" marveled Frances Kane as she moved closer to her childhood love. "The Justice League!"

"We've met before," replied the speedster, coming across colder than he'd intended to.

_ Speed: "The JLA and the Teen Titans meeting up...hasn't always gone so well. Donna knows that better than anyone…so if them showing up here has something to do with those secret plans of her's and Vic's, then we might be in for some trouble…"_

It was Robin who finally broke the ice, casually strolling up to Superman like he'd known him all his life—instead of having first met him hours ago. "So I hear you've got some sort of mysterious appointment with us?" he asked with a slight chuckle.

Superman smiled and shook Dick's hand. "Well I didn't know it was mysterious, but yes, Wonder Girl and Cyborg contacted us about…something."

_Robin: "Figured as much. Wonder how much of their plan I can figure out on my own? Without the little Robin around, I gotta keep my detective skills sharp _somehow_…_

_ "F-, I miss that little guy…"_

"Hey! Animal Man!" Perhaps the only Titan completely ambivalent to any possible repercussions of the League's arrival, Beast Boy ran into the crowd. "How's it goin', Buddy!"

"Hey Gar!" happily exclaimed Buddy Baker, Animal Man, as he gave his tiny friend a high five. "Not too bad, but I _am_ missing Tofu BBQ night to be here right now."

The tiny changeling's eyes grew wide. "_Bummer_..."

"Roy, my boy!" Green Arrow, Oliver Queen, was a virtual stranger to most of the Titans—a name often heard but never met. There was one Titan who knew the hero quite well, however: his former sidekick Arsenal! "Looking good, bud!"

Roy Harper frowned. Crossing his arms, he growled, "Yeah. I am doing good." There was an awkward, silent moment between the two archers before Arsenal started to turn in the other direction. "No thanks to you."

Green Arrow's face fell.

Watching the exchange from the sidelines with a sad, distant look on her face was Donna Troy. She could still remember when Roy Harper was Speedy, Green Arrow's dashing sidekick. She remembered when the two were happy. _Now_ they could barely _speak_ to each other!

"What is the matter with Roy?" Donna was startled out of her melancholy memories by Starfire. The alien watched the two archers with just as much sadness as her teammate, despite knowing almost nothing of Arsenal's past.

"Roy and Green Arrow used to be partners," explained Donna dutifully. "I don't know what exactly happened, but the two had a falling out at some point. That was when Roy's drug problems started." Wincing for a second, the adopted Amazon's voice fell to a near whisper. "I...I didn't know Roy still held such a _grudge_..."

Koriand'r, never one to hold back emotions, wiped away a few tears. "That is so..._sad_!"

_ Wonder Girl: "It sure is. And I can't help but to think of Diana when I see them. I've barely spoken to her since I joined the Titans! Sometimes, even though she doesn't mean it, she makes me feel so small and insecure next to her...but she's still my sister and she still loves me! I don't want us to drift away, like Roy and Ollie..."_

"Donna!"

As if on cue, Wonder Woman extended her greetings. A tall woman in a star-spangled leotard, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons and Donna Troy's adopted sister. She was clearly elated to see Donna—and as an avatar of truth, nothing Diana said or did was _ever_ a lie.

Despite her sentiments, Wonder Girl hesitated. "Diana…" The adopted Amazon stood still, frozen in her tracks—until a quick shove sent her stumbling directly into Wonder Woman's path!

"Do not just stand around!" commanded Starfire, her arm still outstretched from the shove. The alien grinned. "Your sister is waiting!"

_Starfire: "Why would Donna even hesitate? As much as I love Earth…I would give _anything_ to be able to see my family again! Even…even _Komand'r._ I miss my family so much!"_

Blushing, Donna caught herself and finally looked up. "It's good to see you Diana."

"You too, Donna." Wonder Woman's expression softened. "I heard what happened with Kyle, and with Terry. I'm so sorry."

It felt like Donna had been punched in the stomach. She winced, trying not to let the emotional blow show. "T—Thank you."

_Wonder Girl: "If there was one good thing about fighting Trigon, it's that it distracted me from my pain. I…I _never_ want to forget about Terry. But I don't want to be constantly reminded of him either…"_

Again Diana of Themyscara smiled. "But I also saw you fight Trigon. The whole League did! You and your friends…you were wonderful! True warriors, one and all!"

Donna Troy's eyes grew wide—almost as wide as Diana's grin.

"Donna, I'm so _proud_ of you!"

Wonder Girl stood speechless. She knew Diana _loved_ her, but there was something special about those words. _Wonder Woman_ was _proud_ of _her!_ Of _Donna Troy!_

Surprising even herself, Donna leapt forward and enveloped her sister in a massive, Starfire-esque bear-hug. She smiled, sobbed, and buried her head in the elder Amazon's shoulder.

"I love you, Diana."

_Wonder Girl: "If there's one thing that I've learned from Terry Long, it's that you never know how long you're going to have someone around for. No more keeping people at arm's length for me; if I love someone, they're going to know it!"_

While the Titans and the League commiserated, Lilith Clay was overwhelmed by the powerful telepathic mind of J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter. She felt it probing the minds of the Teen Titans, one by one, and that worried her. When his probe reached _Raven_, she worried even more.

_Omen: "Wow, the Manhunter's telepathic power is…as strong as Jupiter's, at the least! I may be biting off more than I can chew, but if he's messing with Raven…I think I need to step in!"_

_ 'Lilith! Wait!'_ The red-headed telepath was startled out of her reveries by the voice of Cyborg suddenly sounding in her head. _'Let J'onn finish! He's not tryin' to hurt anybody! This is just part of the deal!'_

She nodded in agreement, but still sent a look of disdain in J'onn's direction.

_Omen: "Maybe it's none of my business, but I hope whatever these secret plans are, that they were really thought through…"_

Hawkgirl growled, tapping her mace impatiently in her hand. "Aren't we supposed to be here for some sort of negotiation? Shouldn't we get on with it already?"

"I dunno," spoke up Beast Boy, "I'm more curious 'bout how the League saw us fightin' Trigon!"

_Beast Boy: "That's what Wonder Woman said, right? That she saw us fightin' Trigon? Cause that'd require some serious sight beyond sight!"_

"That one's easy!" Zatanna smiled and muttered one of her incantations; holding her hand into the air, a holographic simulation of the Teen Titans suddenly exploded to life in a burst of fluorescent sparks. "I just said 'Show us the Teen Titans' backwards and _viola!_"

"Does that mean that the League knows what's going on with Raven?" asked Arsenal angrily, gesturing towards the tiny empath. "You are aware the Titans are harboring her, right?"

"The Titans explained the situation to us, yes," replied Superman with superhuman patience. He snuck a super-speed glance at J'onn J'onzz, who gave him a nod of approval. "We trust the Titans' judgment."

Roy's expression turned sour. "Wish someone would explain it to _us_."

Sighing in frustration, Lilith put one finger to her forehead, closed her eyes, and broadcasted the story behind Raven's return into the heads of each member of Titans East.

_Omen: "There, now can we move past it already?"_

"Oh," mumbled Arsenal meekly as the events played out in his mind's eye.

Impulse's face exploded with joy. "Alright, TV in my head, just like back home!"

Flamebird, meanwhile, ran to Raven and embraced her. "Welcome to the team!" cried Bette joyfully. "I'm so sorry we ever doubted you!"

_Raven: "As wonderful as it feels to be welcomed like this, I can't help but to be a little disappointed that the Titans have to keep sticking up for me._

_ "Then again, what little I know about the Justice League from the Titans' memories shows me that they're powerful, with a lot of influence. If I failed to win them over, they could undo _all_ the progress I've made so far. Maybe…Maybe it's not so bad that the Titans stepped in on my behalf._

_ "I suppose, in the end, it's really a blessing to have friends that will always support me."_

Batman, meanwhile, was growing impatient. He took a few steps forward and cleared his throat; immediately the crowd fell silent, bowing to his almost supernatural presence.

"I understand we all have a lot to talk about, but it can wait until later. Titans, we need to get on with whatever you called us here to discuss."

Victor Stone shook his head and pointed towards his wrist, where a digital monitor displayed the time. "Actually, we're still waitin' for one more guest before we can start the negotiations."

As if on cue, the telltale noise of rotating blades sounded. A large helicopter hovered over San Francisco Bay, lowering itself towards the water beside Titans Island. Just before touching down inflation devices deployed beneath the vehicle, allowing it to come to a peaceful rest in the water.

Arsenal cast a quizzical expression towards the chopper. "That's a _DEO_ helicopter! What are _they_ doing here?"

Batman bristled. "Don't tell me you invited _them_." Raven felt unease and distrust emanating from the entire League, but one wouldn't have to had been an empath to come to that conclusion. The two forces had long shared a strained relationship.

The DEO—or Department of Extranormal Operations—had been established by the United States Government not long after the Justice League, in an attempt to combat the sudden, rapid boom in metahuman activity. The two organizations quickly found themselves at odds over their methods and treatment of metahumans, but as time passed the DEO had softened somewhat, and the League found themselves tentatively trusting the department. But that didn't mean their suspicions were gone.

Fortunately for all involved, there wasn't time for an argument to brew. A door on the side of the aircraft opened, extending into a drawbridge that created a path onto the island's shore. Two figures emerged.

The first was a man no older than twenty-five. He had long, curly blond hair, a scraggly goatee, and thick-rimmed glasses. He wore a brightly-colored flannel shirt, tight black jeans and sandals. Across his shoulder he lugged an obtrusively large, out-of-date film camera.

The second man was only a few years older at the most, but he held himself with the dignity of a man twice his age. He wore a sharp black suit, black tie, and white button-up shirt. A DEO badge hung from his breast pocket, and two slight bulges—one under his jacket, one on his waist—signified that he was armed. He wore dark glasses, and his long red hair was slicked back with copious amounts of hair gel. Flamebird couldn't help but to think about how much he reminded her of a ginger Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Upon reaching the shore, the cameraman couldn't stop himself from gawking. "Oh wow! The Justice League! This is _too cool!_"

"I'm Superman," greeted the hero, taking the diplomatic approach and extending his hand. The cameraman grasped and shook, not letting go, simply starting with a dumb expression on his face. After a few moments, Superman nudged, "And you are?"

"Oh!" exclaimed the boy, "I'm Ace Atchinson, from MTV!"

_ Cyborg: "Hm, somehow he doesn't look like the kinda guy who can drive a hard bargain. If _he's_ the guy MTV sent to negotiate with us, then it's a good sign!"_

Suddenly the other man was beside them, adjusting his glasses. "And I'm Agent Daniel Chase," he said in a slow, professional tone. He moved towards the center of the group, his hands clasped. "I'm told we have some business to discuss?"

"That's right," said Cyborg. "Everybody, thanks for coming today. Wonder Girl an' I have some propositions 'bout the future of the Titans, and we need help from _all_ your organizations to make this work. Everybody cool with that?" The half-machine was met by a wave of nods; only one figure seemed to have an issue.

"But I do not _want_ the team to change!" exclaimed Princess Koriand'r with her usual vigor. "We are _finally_ fine the way we are!"

_ Starfire: "I am not opposed to change, but we have been through so many changes already! With all the chaos and tragedy I just want things to be normal, for all of us to be happy again!"_

"I know Starry," replied Vic as he put an arm around his extraterrestrial friend, "But we ain't gotta choice. We're tryin' to keep this team alive!"

_ Starfire: "Alive? But if Trigon could not kill the Teen Titans, what can?"_

"Mr. Atchinson," began Cyborg, turning to the scruffy cameraman, "The Titans would like to continue airing our lives on your network if that is at all possible."

"We know that the Real World hires a new cast every season," added Donna, "And we're fine with that. But we would like to star in our own spin-off, and we think it would bring in _killer_ ratings for your network."

_ Robin: "Hell, what are they gonna follow us up with anyway? '_The Real World: Wilmington, Delaware_' ain't gonna cut it!"_

Ace Atchinson was nodding eagerly, pulling a stack of papers from the inside of his camera, which seemed to have been hollowed out and converted into a briefcase of sorts. "Hey, you guys don't have to sell _us_ on anything! We totally had the same idea! MTV sent me here with contracts for all of you! They've already green-lighted production on _'Titans Tower, Season One_' and all they kept telling me was 'We can't afford to lose those guys, Ace, you'd better not screw this one up or you'll be so fired your _unborn grandchildren_ will lose their jobs!'"

_ Speed: "Oh c'mon, this guy can't be for real. If Jupiter wasn't already dead I'd suspect it was one of his stupid stunts."_

"Sweet!" exclaimed Gar Logan as he rushed the stack of papers. "Contracts!"

_ Beast Boy: "I already know that the seven of us will stay together no matter what. But being _paid_ to stay together? Can't argue with that! After bein' homeless all that time before our show, I know how important money is!"_

"Hold on, Gar." Victor Stone held back his tiny friend for a second, flipping through the contract; meanwhile his mechanical eye scanned the document for an important piece of information. "There we go...just like I thought, there's not enough money in the budget to run the tower."

Ace panicked, his voice cracking as he frantically replied, "We don't _have_ enough! Do you know how much it_ costs_ to run that tower? Without your old boss, we—"

"We know," interjected Wonder Girl. "That's why we called the DEO and the League here."

"You called us here for _money_?" growled Batman. For once, his curmudgeonly attitude was justified—after all, the League's funding came mostly from Bruce Wayne's pocket.

"No," Vic did his best to smooth things over. "Well, maybe," he admitted sheepishly, "But there's more to it than _just_ the funding. We don't expect free money."

Donna stepped in, taking over. "Both of your organizations can help us in more than one way," she began. "We know there's going to be some fallout due to the actions of Mr. Jupiter and the old Raven, and even because of our allowing the new Raven to remain on the team. Fans of our show aren't going to stop watching, but this isn't about popularity: it's about accountability.

"We don't want to lose the respect of the authorities, of the governments, of the people who can affect our ability to do our job!"

"So you want us to sponsor you?" The corner of Daniel Chase's mouth had just barely turned into the tiniest of smirks.

_ Wonder Girl: "I'd be surprised about how perceptive he is, but really, he looks pretty perceptive to begin with. I guess this is par for the course?"_

"'Zactly!" smiled Cyborg. "Not only can your two organizations workin' together provide the rest of our funds _easily_, but bein' sponsored by the most famous and respected group of superheroes on the planet and a powerful, top-ranked government agency is sure to help repair our image!"

Donna could see Batman starting to look edgy, and immediately chimed in. "In return for your sponsorship, the Titans are willing to undertake missions for both teams, if you choose to assign them. All we ask is the ability to veto missions, and that we are still allowed to pursue independent missions of our own choice as well."

_ Wonder Girl: "Am I pushing it a little? I guess. We need the League's help...but I don't want to become the League's lapdogs either. That's one of my biggest worries, I think. As a Titan I feel independent, empowered. I don't want to feel like a little kid again..."_

"Of _course_ we'll sponsor you!" instantly answered Wonder Woman, not hesitating for a second.

_ Beast Boy: "Wow. I never noticed it before, but she's the Starfire of the League, isn't she? Or would that make Starfire the 'Wonder Woman' of the Titans? Ouch, this is more complicated than I thought."_

"Diana's right," seconded Superman. "The Titans are the next generation of heroes, and the League will do whatever we can to help you all reach your potential."

The Man of Steel cast his glance towards his black-clad companion. Batman's expression never changed as he said, "The deal does seem mutually beneficial."

_ Raven: "I don't understand why Batman keeps hiding his emotions. I can sense that he is proud of the Titans—not only for defeating Trigon, but for coming up with this plan and presenting it to them. Does he _want_ others to not like him?"_

"We accept your offer as well," said Daniel Chase affably. "It will be good publicity for the DEO to be seen working with metahumans anyway. Smart thinking."

_ Cyborg: "Donna may've been nervous 'bout asking the League for help, but I had more issues with the DEO. I mean, bein' sponsored by a group that hasn't always loved metahumans'll do a lot to win over the cynics, but I was worried that'd put _us_ in danger, y'know? But this Chase guy, I like him. Heart seems in the right place."_

Sighing heavily, Ace Atchinson again spoke up. "Hey, I don't really understand everything going on here, but are you guys going to sign these contracts or what?"

Vic patted him on the back. "As soon as our lawyer gets here, they're all yours."

Relief washed over Ace, nearly causing him to collapse. "Good, my unborn grandchildren can't afford to be unemployed!"

_ Speed: "What?...We're being 'Punked', right? Is that show even still on the air? Whatever. This guy is too much."_

"Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought!" exclaimed Garfield Logan as he stretched his arms behind his head. "Really, hardly anything changed!"

Donna couldn't help but to grin as the words left her green teammate's mouth. Gar facepalmed as soon as he saw the unusually smug smile. "Great, I always have to shoot off my big mouth!"

"You're right though, Gar," replied Wonder Girl, "I was saving the biggest surprise for last." Sighing, she took a second to compose herself.

"I'm stepping down as leader of the Titans."

_ Wonder Girl: "Deep down, I've known this was coming from the moment Terry died. I should have quit earlier, to be honest, but my pride wouldn't let me. I think my pride's a worse enemy then Deathstroke could ever be..."_

"But why, Donna?" asked Starfire. "You are not leaving us, are you?"

The adopted Amazon gave her concerned friend a pat on the back. "Of course not, Kory!" she reassured. "I'm just not going to be leading the team anymore! I always found the tactical part of leadership to be a lot of fun, really, but it's become more and more obvious to me lately that I have a lot to learn about dealing with people. I'm not cut out to lead a group, at least not yet. After everything I've been through...I need some time to recover anyway.

"I need some time to learn to love _Donna Troy_, not the Amazon or the team leader or the girlfriend...but me. Just all of me."

_ Speed: "Sounds like a Lifetime original movie if I've ever heard one. I'm a bit more interested in who our _new_ leader will be. Vic seems like the easy choice, but I can't be the only one who noticed who _really_ took charge today..._

"Does this mean you're finally takin' over, Vic?" asked Beast Boy as he leapt atop the back of his cybernetic pal, tapping the side of his head playfully. "About time, big guy!"

"Wait," asked the robotic Titan incredulously, "Me?" He waved his arms in disagreement, as if to shoo away the nomination as quickly as possible. "No way, Gar. I worry too much 'bout all you guys as it is. If I was in charge, I'd never have a moments peace!"

His green buddy scratched his head. "But who's left?"

"Isn't it obvious, Gar?" asked Donna. "I nominate Dick Grayson, _Robin_, to be our new leader!"

Dick's eyes grew wide as saucers. "Me? Holy f-ing s-!"

_ Robin: "S-, didn't see that one comin' at all! Not even a g-damn clue!"_

"I second that!" chimed in Vic.

"Oh Dick!" Koriand'r, tears filling her massive green eyes, latched herself onto her boyfriend. "This is wonderful! I am so proud of you!"

_ Starfire: "If anybody deserves this, Dick does! He can pull it off!"_

"Guys, s-, this is so cool, but seriously..." Dick trailed off for a second. "_Me?_"

_ Robin: "I mean, a few hours ago everybody still hated me!"_

"Of course _you_," laughed Vic. "Did you even pay attention to yourself during that Trigon fight?"

Gar almost gasped as he forced himself to remember Dick's role in that epic battle. "That's right!" he exclaimed. "You were makin' plans like a boss!"

"You figured out how to use my powers better than I did, man," admitted Wally West. "You got _my _vote—and hell, that probably counts for, like, three normal votes!"

"And my vote as well," spoke up Raven, her tiny voice barely audible.

_ Raven: "I may not have been around to see him lead, but I saw the way Dick took charge when I hid in Azarath. He has a fearlessness I admire, and though I can't put words to it, there's something about him that's just...inspiring..."_

Starfire pulled her love even closer. "And you know I'd follow you anywhere, Dick..."

The acrobat couldn't help but to grin like a dummy.

_ Robin: "S-, all I did was follow Superman's advice, to try to be an inspiration! Who'da thunk I'd be so good at it?"_

"Guys, it's not me, I owe it all to Superman!" The Kryptonian's teammates snuck him odd looks, but he could only smile. He remembered his conversation with Dick. "But if you insist..." continued Robin as he pumped his fist into the air triumphantly.

"I'm the f-ing leader!"

An awkward silence filled the air, puzzling Dick. "What, guys?"

A few seconds passed. "Can someone else please handle this one?" asked Wally, an edge of annoyance in his voice. "I'm tired of being the one who always points out the elephant in the room."

Gar transformed into a green elephant, but still said nothing.

It was Donna who finally spoke up, sighing heavily as she said, "Dick, if you're going to be leader...

"Can you _please_ tone down the cursing?"

Another awkward silence began as Dick looked at his friends, befuddled.

"Wait a second..." said Robin as he slowly processed this information.

"I _curse_?"

Absolutely speechless, everybody in the crowd just stared at Dick. The tension, however, abrubtly broke as the acrobat's facade crumbled under a fit of giggles. His friends immediately followed suit.

"Jeez," laughed Wally playfully, "You're such an assh-!"

_ Robin: "Seriously though, not cussin' is gonna be hard as hell! S-, how do you even handle th—dammit, let one slip! Okay, two. Sh..._Crap_, is there some sort of patch for this or something? This seems a lot harder than quitting smoking!"_

"So that's your fearless leader?" Kyle Rayner, the young Green Lantern of Earth, approached Donna Troy, his former girlfriend. Donna hadn't failed to notice him eyeing her the entire visit, though she had managed to push the fact to the back of her mind. But with the sudden levity giving him the perfect opening, it looked like it was time for them to come face to face.

"He's better than he looks," chuckled the adopted Amazon, diffusing the accusation with a good-natured smile, "Believe me."

"So what's next for you, Donna?" asked the Lantern. "You've never been without a plan before. There must be _something_ up."

_ Wonder Girl: "And despite spending half our relationship away in space, Kyle still knows me so well..."_

"Yeah, I guess there is." Wonder Girl's smile beamed bright. "Okay everybody, I guess there's one more thing! This isn't any obligation on anybody's part, but just something I've been working on, something I wanted to propose...

"I want to open a museum."

She was met by a sea of slightly incredulous stares, unsure just what exactly to think of her statement.

"Like...with paintings and naked statues?" asked Bette Kane hesitantly.

Donna chuckled. "No, a _Titans_ museum! It'd be a place to remember our achievements, _all_ our achievements! Not_ just_ the Titans either. We can have exhibits on the League, or the old Justice Society from World War II, and even everyday heroes like cops and firefighters! It can...it can be a way to keep heroes alive!"

"We already talked it over," added Victor Stone, "And Donna an' I are willin' to put aside some of our paychecks to help fund the place. As for the profits from admission and stuff, we want part of it to go towards payin' for the damage our battles cause to the city."

"The rest is going to go to charity." Donna paused for a second. "Actually, I've already began the process of starting my _own_ charity: 'The Terry Long Foundation.' It will help to promote an appreciation for history and for classical arts among the young. It's...It's something that was close to Terry's heart."

_ Wonder Girl: "The charity, the museum, I guess it all comes down to keeping our sacrifices, keeping their _memories_ alive. I couldn't save Terry, and I know this does nothing to make up for that fact, but still...it's a start."_

Diana knew exactly what her sister was thinking. "I think that's a wonderful idea, Donna."

"Isn't opening a museum about yourself a little arrogant?" asked Batman, his arms crossed.

"Hey!" objected Flash as he dashed to face his teammate. "The Flash museum works just _fine_!"

Batman's eyes narrowed into angry slits. He _hated_ Barry's museum.

"Actually, I think it's a great idea." Daniel Chase's words took the entire group by surprise.

"Really?" asked Vic, appraising the agent out of the corner of his eye. "The DEO's behind a museum devoted to metas?"

Chase shrugged. "Probably not, but who cares? The DEO didn't want me coming here in the first place. But I like you kids. If every metahuman used their abilities the way you guys do, my job would be a lot easier. I'll make sure they get behind _all_ your plans. I think it could do a lot of good."

_ Cyborg: "See, I knew I was a good judge of character!"_

"Hey, Donna." Garfield Logan tapped at the side of his teammate.

"Yeah, Gar?"

"At this museum...can Tara have a statue there?"

"She was a Titan, wasn't she? Of _course_ she can!"

Gar couldn't hide his happiness; his beaming face was practically visible from orbit. "Awesome," he said in a reverent, hushed whisper.

_ Beast Boy: "A museum...what a cool idea! I wanna make sure Tara's _never_ forgotten...and this is just the way to do it!_

_ "Wow. Who woulda ever thought Donna an' I would end up with so much in common?"_

Batman cleared his throat, again directing attention towards himself. "Is there anymore business to discuss in regards to the relations to our teams?" Vic nodded his head no. "Then Titans, give me the address of your lawyer. Flash is going to go fetch him so we can wrap this up."

As the half-man, half-machine printed out the address, Flash zoomed to Iris. "Mrs. Allen, do you need a ride home?"

"Actually," interjected Wally, speeding into the conversation before his aunt even had a chance to answer, "I was hoping to take her and my uncle to dinner in Paris once this is all over. That cool with you, Aunt Iris?"

"Wally!" The invitation was the last thing Iris Allen expected. "You don't have to do that!"

"Oh c'mon," grinned the speedster, "A celebration dinner is the _least_ I can do!"

It took all of Barry Allen's willpower to stop himself from revealing his secret identity as he watched Iris and Wally hug. Hey, he couldn't help it if he was a proud uncle! He heard Batman beckoning him, and with a sigh took off, disappearing across the bay in an instant.

As the Flash roared away at Mach 10, Kyle Rayner floated around his ex-girlfriend like a fly, crafting design possibilities for the Titans Museum with his ring; he chattered away, seemingly full of ideas, leaving Donna Troy quite perplexed.

_ Wonder Girl: "What's his deal? Yesterday he was _furious_ with me, and don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see that Kyle and I are on speaking terms again, but it's just odd. How did that happen?"_

"Kyle." The one word from Donna, interjected between one of the Lantern's few pauses, brought his train of thought to a sudden, screeching halt. He knew that tone of voice. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Of course," replied the Leaguer, but Donna didn't seem to be paying much attention to his response. She was already beckoning into the crowd, towards a red-clad archer who seemed amazed to be called. "Roy! Get over here!"

_ Wonder Girl: "This is going to be awkward...but I treated Kyle _and _Roy badly. Even if Kyle is talking to me again, I can't leave things the way they are. It's not right."_

"Justice League!" While Donna Troy focused on fixing her mistakes, Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran set her sights on an audience with the League. "Please, you must help me!"

The League looked back and forth at each other, confused by her sudden urgency. Little did they know that this was how she always was. "Um, go ahead, Starfire."

"Please, do any of you know the way to Tamaran?"

_ Starfire: "I do not breathe like human beings do—I am sustained by sunlight, and therefore able to travel on my own through the vacuum of space. I should be able to return to Tamaran anytime, but I...I am not even sure where Tamaran _is _anymore. I was so young when I was captured, enslaved, and eventually sold away to a strange world I had never heard of called '_Earth_.' Maybe the Justice League will know something I do not!"_

Dick Grayson, however, looked like he'd been punched in the gut. "Kory? What're you _talkin'_ about, babe? You wanna _leave?_"

_ Robin: "If Kory leaves, Trigon might as well've killed me after all..."_

"Please Kory, you can't leave us..." Dick wasn't the only one broken up. Tears ran freely down Raven's tiny face. "You...you're the heart of this team. We _need _you..."

Koriand'r shook her head. "Do not worry my friends. I do not plan to leave you—or if I do, not for very long!" She smiled, looking towards the sky and reminiscing. "I have wonderful memories of Tamaran, of all the _love_ I experienced there. But Earth, for all its faults, has treated me just as well. And all of you, my friends...well, I could not ask for a better family. I feel at ease here on Earth, in Titans Tower. I have a place here, a life here, _love_ here!

"I have no doubts that Earth is my home now—that I belong with the Teen Titans!"

_ Starfire: "On Tamaran and Earth alike, a child must eventually strike out on her own and find her own path in life. I feel that I have found the path that is right for me, and I know in my heart that, if my parents could see all that I have accomplished, they would be so proud of me!"_

"But regardless of that, it has been so long since I have seen my family back on Tamaran!" The alien princess lowered her head somberly, biting at her bottom lip. "I have not spoken to them since I was captured and sold into slavery all those years ago...do they even know that I am still alive?

"I can _not_ leave them like this! I must see them again!"

"So, a vacation, eh?" Dick grinned as he looped his arm around his love's. "Visit exotic worlds, meet the parents? I'm down for that."

_ Robin: "Hell, if I'm datin' Kory, does that make me the Prince of Tamaran?"_

"Unfortunately, getting to Tamaran isn't so easy." Hawkgirl, the winged warrior, was the bearer of the bad news. Her homeworld of Thanagar was relatively close to Tamaran, so she knew what she was talking about. "I've been trying to make it back to Thanagar for _years_, but its so far away that it's nearly impossible to reach with the technology available to us. Just a one way trip would take decades!"

Dick felt his girlfriend slump in his arms, but something didn't feel right to him. "Then how did _you_ get here?" He paused for a second. "Hell, how did the Gordanians and Blackfire get here?"

"Freak teleporter accident," answered Hawkgirl quickly, showing obvious discomfort.

"As for the Gordanians and Blackfire, the League's been trying to figure how they got here ever since their attack," answered Batman. "We recovered advanced engines from the wreckage of the Gordanian ship that _seem_ to have some sort of warp capability. The Atom, Mr. Terrific, and Steel have been tinkering with them in their spare time, but have yet to get them working."

"Aw _man_!" exclaimed Cyborg, interjecting himself into the conversation while rubbing his hands together eagerly. "Let me take a look at 'em! I'd love to get my hands on some Tamaranian tech!"

Bumblebee peered from behind the half-machine. "I'd like that as well," she said. "If their warp technology is anything like the portal generator I installed in Mal's horn, I might be able to get something up and running."

"I can help as well," added Starfire, which drew a few surprised stares. "I may know little about machines, but they are still from my homeworld. I might be able to discover something one of you missed."

Hawkgirl chuckled, smiling slyly as she turned to her teammate. "You'd better let 'em in, Bats. Something tells me you couldn't take_ all_ of 'em!"

_ Starfire: "It does sadden me, to not know if or when I will be able to see Tamaran again. But it warms my heart to have so many people willing to help me get there!"_

"Good luck on the whole 'meet the family thing'," grinned Vic as he elbowed Robin playfully. "You'll need it."

_ Cyborg: "Heh, who knows what Starry's folks'll think of Dick. But man, when I think of someday meetin' _Sarah's_ folks, it gives me a chill. It shouldn't, I know. I'm sure Sarah's family's great. It's just...I'd be nervous in the first place, and lookin' like _this_, I still have a hard time meetin' new people sometimes. I mean, I'm used to how I look, but not everybody else is, y'know?"_

Suddenly the robotic Titan was snapped out of his thoughts by a persistent tapping in his side. "Yo, Vic!" called Garfield Logan as he repeatedly poked his friend. "Come over here for a minute."

"What's up, Gar?" asked Vic as he followed his chartreuse friend away from the rest of the group. Beast Boy attempted several times to speak, but mostly just ended up mumbling and furrowing his brow. "C'mon Gar, just spit it out already. It's no big deal."

The shapeshifter did just that. "I'm just worried about you!" Blushing, he quickly amended, "I guess."

"_You're_ worried about _me_?" Cyborg laughed. "Ain't it s'posed to be the other way around?"

"But that's what I'm tryin' to say!" exclaimed Gar. "Dude, it's cool if you don't wanna be leader—Dick'll do a great job. But you're spendin' too much time worryin' 'bout all of us and not enough about yourself!

"Remember when we were fightin' Trigon and he opened up that pit 'neath me an' you an' Wally? The _first thing_ you tried to do was throw yourself down the pit so we could survive! Why didn't you just shoot out with your extenda-arm and grab the side? It doesn't make any sense!"

_ Cyborg: "Dammit, Gar's right. In the middle of battle—'specially one as tough as Trigon's—sometimes it's hard to remember everything you can do. But I didn't even _try_ to find a way out of that pit. All I could think about was sacrificin' myself so Gar and Wally could make it out. And that ain't right. Heroes are always s'posed to put other's ahead of themselves, but a needless sacrifice like that don't help _anybody_!"_

"Tara already let herself die for no reason!" continued Garfield, holding back tears. "You can't do it too, okay. I couldn't take it!"

"I know, Gar," said Vic calmly, solemnly, as he patted his friend on the back. "You're right."

The tiny shapeshifter looked surprised. "I am?"

"Of course, man," casually replied Victor Stone. "And it'll never happen again. Promise."

_ Cyborg: "Sometimes people act like I'm perfect, and I don't get it. I screw up as much as the next guy. I think the only real difference is I try to learn from my mistakes. I hope I'm gettin' it right."_

"But Gar?" Vic grinned as he continued. "If you want me to stop worryin' 'bout you so much, try not gettin' into so much trouble, okay?"

Gar shook his head and punched the robotic Titan playfully. "Jerk."

_ Beast Boy: "That's the great thing 'bout Vic. Even when the guy screws up, he listens to ya, and he doesn't make me feel like a chump for bringing it up._

_ "Y'know, I never had a best friend before I joined the Titans. It's pretty great!"_

Meanwhile, Dick Grayson was leaning against a tree, watching his girlfriend and the League chat about the Gordanian engines.

"Congratulations, Dick!"

"Holy f-ing s-!"

The sudden scream sent the startled acrobat leaping into the air; quickly realizing how foolish he looked, Robin somersaulted and landed on his feet, facing the tree, an explosive disk ready in each hand.

However, hanging upside down from the tree was no monster or villain; it was a boy wearing a costume similar to Dick's. He was_ also_ Robin, Tim Drake, Dick's namesake and sidekick of the Batman.

"I thought you weren't cursing anymore," joked Tim as he dismounted his perch, landing a few feet away from the other Robin.

"Considerin' my pants are full of the s- you scared outta me, I think it's okay this time!" Dick was still gasping for breath, but was finally getting his bearings enough to realize how strange it was for Tim to have shown up. "Wait, what're you doing here?"

_ Robin: "Last time we talked, the little guy got pissed an' ran off on me!"_

"After that wave hit and Batman ran off, I hacked into the League's security system and watched Zatanna's reenactment of the Trigon fight for myself." Grinning, the boy continued, "After that, I hacked into the League teleporter and brought myself here."

Dick couldn't help but to be impressed. "Sick—but how're you gonna hide that from Batman? You're livin' on borrowed time, kid."

"There _isn't _a way to hide that," replied the smaller Robin, shrugging as if it was no big deal. "And I'm still alive, so that usually means Batman doesn't care."

"Or he's too busy thinkin' up ways to do you in," countered the older Robin, only half-joking.

Again Tim shrugged. "He's not as bad as you think, man. It was my job to make sure of that, remember?" He paused for a second, looking down at his feet, before mustering up the courage to continue. "Anyway, look, that's not why I'm here. I just wanted to apologize—"

"Wait," interrupted an incredulous Dick Grayson, "_You're_ apologizin'? Why? I'm the one who acted like a total dick!"

"True," replied the smaller boy without a moment's hesitation, "But _I'm_ the guy who abandoned his best friend instead of trying to help him through a hard time, and that's a pretty messed up thing to do too." He sighed. "I guess I didn't realize how much I need you around, dude. I'm really sorry, and I know you are too. So, whaddaya say? We even?"

"Hell _yes_ we are!" exclaimed Robin as he gripped his counterpart's open hand. "I missed havin' you around too, kid."

Tim chuckled as he shook his head. "_Obviously_. You're not as slick as you think you are."

_ Robin: "I'll let that one slide, cause I'm just happy to have my friend back! Still, wasn't any reason for the kid to be sorry 'bout anything. I needed him runnin' off, I needed Kory dumpin' me, cause otherwise I'dve never realized what a huge jerk I was bein'!"_

"Alright Donna, what's going on?" Kyle Rayner, young Green Lantern of Earth, had come to Titans Island hoping what he and Wonder Girl once had could still be repaired if they could just sit down and talk like adults. His hope turned to annoyance, however, when Donna invited Roy Harper, Arsenal, into the conversation. "And what's _he_ doing here?"

"You're here because I need to apologize to you," answered the adopted Amazon. "I need to apologize to _both_ of you."

Roy laughed. "What, for that one night stand? That was as much _my_ fault as yours! I _could've _said no, you know." He patted his chest, bragging playfully. "I may be a man, but that doesn't mean I _have_ to have sex if it's offered. That's a stereotype!"

_ Wonder Girl: "Roy, saying no to sex? That's a laugh."_

"Maybe," said Donna, "But I still shouldn't have used you that way or dragged you into my business, and for that I'm sorry."

"Well then," smiled Roy shyly, "I guess I'd be a huge ass if I didn't accept, then, wouldn't I?"

Apparently Donna agreed, because she didn't even bother to answer him. "And Kyle," she continued, her stern facade starting to crack, "Hera, I don't even know where to _begin_ with you."

"Donna, you don't have to apol—"

"_No_ Kyle, I do." Her hands balled into fists and her weight shifted; Donna practically took a battle stance as she continued her apology.

_ Wonder Girl: "I don't like this, being vulnerable, being wrong...but I _was_ in the wrong, and there's no way I can leave things unsettled. Gods, putting myself on the line like this...this takes true strength..."_

"I still cheated on you Kyle, no matter what reasons I had and no matter whether they were valid or not. And then when you got back, Hera, I couldn't even admit it. I was _awful_—"

"You were _traumatized_, Donna," interjected the Lantern, "Grieving even! Hell, neither of our heads were very clear that night!"

Arsenal could sense things starting to get awkward, personal. "I...I think I'd better get going."

"No. Roy, Kyle..." Wonder Girl laughed nervously, wiping a few stray strands of hair away from her eyes. "Both of you, I just want to tell you how much you mean to me. You've both been a huge part of my life...and I need to make sure you both realize that. Do you?"

Both boys nodded in agreement. "I'm so happy to hear that." A smile of pure relief crossed Donna's face. "I...I loved Terry, guys. But that whole situation, and then adding you two in, it was so _complicated_. And I don't need complications right now. I think...I think I need to be _single_ for a while."

_ Wonder Girl: "From almost the very first day I came to man's world, I got involved with Kyle, and then I went right from him to Terry! It's too much, too fast. It's not like I'm planning on staying single _forever_ or anything...but I need time to myself. Time to _work_ on myself."_

"But I hope that, even after everything we've been through...I hope we can still be friends."

For a split second, Roy Harper grimaced. Being friend-zoned was every man's worst nightmare...but at the same time, he'd long ago accepted that Donna Troy was out of his league. Did this really change anything?

Things were a little rougher for Kyle Rayner. He had dated Donna for years, genuinely cared for her, had hoped they could reconcile—only to find those hopes shattered beyond repair. However, beyond those shattered dreams lied closure, and it was something Kyle hadn't even known he needed until it came. Now he slowly found that void in his chest closing. He thought of how there was no more reason to feel guilty when he left for space, about all the _new_ girls he could meet from all over the _universe_. Most importantly, however, he realized that even if they weren't a couple, Donna was right—he still wanted to have her around.

"Of course!" replied both boys as they reached out for Wonder Girl. Tears welled in her eyes as the three hugged.

_ Wonder Girl: "Finally, something works out for the best. I'm so happy things turned out this way...with everything settled, maybe now I can move on with my life..._

_ "Actually, no. I still have one more person to talk to..."_

As the embrace ended, Roy spotted something in the water approaching Titans Island. He squinted, squaring in with the hawk-like eyesight his archery required. "Hey, isn't that Vic's girlfriend and that annoying kid that hung around Gar?"

Donna sighed. "Vic! Gar! Visitors!"

The telescopic feature of Cyborg's mechanical eye had even Arsenal's vision beat; it zoomed in until Vic could clearly see Sarah Simms and Matt Logan riding towards the island on a small, self-propelled, T-Shaped raft. "Best surprise I've had all day," smiled the robotic Titan.

_ Cyborg: "Sarah showing up, I mean. Matt's never good...but always a surprise, somehow."_

The guests received a warm welcome the second they made it to shore! "Vic!" Sarah Simms practically tackled her boyfriend, leaping into Victor Stone's arms with all her might and planting a kiss onto his lips before he could even speak.

_ Cyborg: "_Damn_ I love this girl."_

Scrawny Matt Logan, his shirt covered in spilt beer, gave his cousin a high five. "Yo, Gar! I heard you saved the world! F-in' a, cuz'!"

The shapeshifter grinned, both pleased and slightly embarrassed. "Hey, that's my job, dude."

"Coolest job in the _world_!" exclaimed Matt, fist-bumping Gar. "So where's the party?" demanded the slacker as he surveyed the touching but completely non-partylike conditions of the island. "If I just saved the world, you can be sure as hell this place'd be covered in babes!"

_ Beast Boy: "I dunno, I think there's _plenty_ of babes on this island, but I don't think most of 'em would be appreciated bein' _called_ a babe, y'know?"_

Garfield shrugged. "I think we're more worried 'bout resting than partyin', Matt."

"Good thing a real bro's always prepared!" exclaimed the boy as he turned back to the raft. "I can't get us anymore chicks, but I did bring the booze!" Matt ran to a keg on the back of the raft, practically embracing it before moving to haul it to shore.

Suddenly a chill ran down Matt's spine. Sunlight seemed to fade away into nothingness as shadow fell over the boy and his beer. His pulse quickened; his palms slicked with sweat. The few seconds it took Matt to power past this fear and look up stretched on like an eternity.

Standing above Matt Logan, shrouded in intimidating shadows and glaring down at the young slacker with an expression that would terrify serial killers, was Batman himself.

"You don't look 21 to me."

Matt's eyes shot open wide as saucers.

"Eep!"

_ Beast Boy: "Heh, that's Matt for ya. That guy'll never change. Y'know, it's funny. I used to really look up to Matt, but after everything I've been through with the Titans, I'm gettin' the feelin' that it's _Matt_ lookin' up to _me_ now. Man, who woulda ever thought _I'd_ be a role model? Super cool!"_

Completely oblivious to Matt's dilemma, Vic and Sarah were still transfixed by their electric kiss. As they pulled away, Vic could've swore he saw stars.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Sarah."

"I wasn't worried," replied the blonde with a nonchalant shrug and a killer smile. "You never let me down."

As Victor stared into Sarah's eyes, it felt like there was nobody in the world but the two of them. "Sarah, you have no idea how much I love you right now..."

Sarah grabbed Cyborg's neck and let the half-machine pull her into his arms. "Oh, I think I have an inkling."

_ Cyborg: "I think this is a milestone, guys! It's amazing to me that I found Sarah at all, that she loves me as much as she does...when I first became a cyborg, I was so angry an' self-conscious I thought no one'd ever love me again...bein' with Sarah, it's like a miracle. _She's_ a miracle."_

"So...what now?"

Sarah pulled a scrap of paper with an address scribbled on it from her purse and pushed it into Vic's hand. "Dinner with my family, Saturday night. It's about time my dad and brother found out how awesome you are."

There was a moment of hesitation, a moment where a slight hint of fear passed across Victor Stone's face. He didn't let the moment last. Instead, he pulled her close into another kiss.

"Sounds perfect."

_ Cyborg: "I guess this is karma for kiddin' with Dick when this happened to him, ain't it? But still, there's no _way_ I'm backin' down. Doin' things that make you uncomfortable, hell, that's just a part of what love really is."_

Wally West sat atop a rock, staring at Vic and Sarah. They were only a few feet in front of him, but his mind seemed like it was hundreds of miles away.

_ Speed: "Before, when my body was gone, watching those two would have pissed me off so bad. Now, though, it doesn't make me angry at all. It just makes me feel like something's missing. I don't love Raven anymore, but that doesn't mean there isn't some part of me that would kill for a girlfriend._

_ "I'm only human, after all."_

"Wally?" Francis Kane, the Titans East-er known as Magenta, approached the speedster with trepidation. The two teens shared quite a bit of history, moments both fantastic and horrific; it would have been confusing for _anyone_. "I know this is a weird question but I know you're thinking it too...where do we go from here?"

_ Speed: "Yeah, that's the million dollar question. Fran was the first girl I ever loved. Hell, before that she was my best friend! This should be an easy decision, but...there's still unfinished business between us. Not just my general all-around assh-ishness, but there's still the question of what the hell is up with her split personalities. That's what broke us up in the first place...I'm not sure I could go through that again..."_

The fastest teen alive scratched his head, deep in thought, before looking up and making eye-contact with Fran; he allowed himself a rare, sarcasm-free smile. "Well, where do you _want _to go?" Magenta replied with a blank stare, and Wally leaned in closer, pushing the question. "C'mon, seriously, anywhere in the world, where do you go?"

"Uh..." Fran stammered, "Hawaii?"

"Then tomorrow," grinned Speed, "We have dinner in Hawaii." Shaking his head and chuckling softly, he added, "But stand me up for some Titans East crap and there won't be a second date, got me?"

Breathless, Fran stammered, "Wait, you want to get back together? Really?"

"It certainly seems that way."

"But—but what about Magenta? The other one, I mean!"

Wally leaned in close to his childhood love and grabbed both her hands tenderly. "Fran, we're _superheroes_ now!" Electricity crackled across the boy's Speed Force suit, as if to emphasize the point. "We got plenty of friends and connections that can try to find out what's wrong with you! You're not alone! We'll do it together!"

Tears leaked from Fran's eyes and onto her metallic mask. "Do you—do you really think we'll make it this time?"

Cradling her cheek in the palm of his hand, Wally tilted Fran's head sideways and moved in for their first kiss in years.

"I think that we're finally gonna be able to find out."

_ Speed: "What I said before, it might be true, but I spent my whole time on this show being indecisive, and it didn't help anything. It's time to take charge! No matter how things work out with Fran, it's better than sitting around torturing myself wondering what could have been for the rest of my life._

_ "Besides, I'm sick of messing up good things in my life, and Fran? She's a good thing. We've got each other's backs."_

The island shook for a second as the Flash roared back into sight; weighed down by the three people he carried, his steps stamped down with the force of a bullet train. He skidded to a stop, letting his passengers—two men, one woman, all sharply dressed lawyers—climb off his back and out of his arms. They looked frazzled, their hair loose, but for having undertaken such an unusual journey, they were in pretty remarkable spirits.

DEO Agent Daniel Chase straightened up, adjusting his tie as he mentally prepared for the proceedings, putting aside the gentler persona he had been presenting to the Titans and instead readying the stern negotiator tactics he had been trained and hired for.

"Excuse me, Mr. Chase?"

Craning his neck to look behind him, the agent found Koriand'r tapping on his shoulder. He smirked; no matter who he worked for, he genuinely did like these kids. "Can I help you, Starfire?"

"I hope so," she replied. "Please, do you know what has happened to Deathstroke's children?"

Chase was taken aback. "Deathstroke's kids? Joseph and Rose Wilson?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Starfire. "Please, how are they?"

The mere mention of Deathstroke's name captured Donna Troy's full attention.

_ Wonder Girl: "That's right...I had forgotten all about Jericho and Ravager. After our fight, Roy handed them over to the DEO. Kory claimed they were being mind-controlled...was she right?"_

_ Starfire: "Those poor children were being brainwashed, forced to fight by their own father! Just the thought of such cruelty still makes me furious!"_

"They've only been in our custody for less than a day, Starfire," answered Daniel Chase, trying his best to be sympathetic despite the slight information he had. "We have no idea if they'll recover, or if the effects were permanent."

"The effects?" echoed Donna as she entered the conversation. "Wait, they really were being mind-controlled?"

Chase winced. "_Oh_ yeah. This was one of the worst cases of mind-control the DEO's seen in our entire history. Their blood was 90% contaminated by the serum. It's gonna take weeks to completely detox them, and even then, we don't know if the stuff was _addictive_ yet..."

_ Wonder Girl: "As if I didn't already know that Deathstroke was a complete monster...he may have robbed me of the man I loved, but he tried to take away his _own children's _entire _future_! _

_ "That really puts things in perspective. My life hasn't been perfect, I've faced tragedy, but still, it's been cake compared to Deathstroke's kids!"_

"Please!" begged Koriand'r. "If there is anything I can do to help them, tell me!"

The DEO Agent smiled. "You have my word."

_ Starfire: "I am so relieved! If only I could help them sooner...but this is Earth, and I must show patience. Regardless, though, I will never quit fighting for those who need my protection!"_

Lilith Clay, the telepathic precog known as Omen, stood by herself on the far side of the island, watching in silence as negotiations began, picking up stray thoughts that filled her in to all the developments taking place between the Titans and their many guests. She was filled by an odd sense of melancholy; she was happy that things were finally looking up for the Titans, but she wasn't quite so sure what to think about her _own_ prospects.

_ Omen: "Well, it looks like there's no reason for me to stay here anymore. After all, I originally took this mission to stop Mr. Jupiter, to save the Titans, and I managed to help do all that now. The Titans are getting their happy endings. I guess it's time to try to find _mine_._

_ "This whole mission, as important as it was, was a distraction from the real reason I set out on my own in the first place: to find my birth parents. And now that I've seen my powers grow, seen how much they could help if I could only fully control them, it's even more important for me to find out about my past!_

_ "I _am _really going to miss it here though..."_

"Lilith." The telepath gasped, spinning around to see the tiny, pale form of Raven standing behind her. "Please don't leave."

"You startled me, Raven!" Lilith held a hand over her heart, still catching her breath. "That's not easy to do!"

"Oh," she said, suddenly feeling guilty. "I'm sorry. I'm also sorry for picking up on your emotions uninvited, but I can sense that you are...moving on, emotionally, to your next task. Are you really leaving us? Why?"

_ Raven: "All the Titans have done so much for me, and there is no way I can choose favorites...but Lilith was the first who truly opened up to me. She is obviously free to do whatever she wishes, but if she does leave...I will truly miss her."_

"It's just _time_," answered Omen. "It's time I get going before I wear out my welcome."

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Starfire, landing with a boom nearly as loud as her outburst. "You are welcome here as long as you like!"

"How about forever?" Wonder Girl and Robin approached next—nervously, Lilith noticed more Titans heading over far behind them. "We never could've beat Trigon without you, after all," continued Donna.

Flattered but flustered, Lilith shook her hands. "C'mon, you guys don't owe me anything!"

"Why would this be about owing you?" asked Starfire, her voice as insistent as always as she continued. "We _want_ you here!"

"Yeah," added Donna, "You're our _friend!_ I mean, yes, your abilities are huge tactical advantages, I can't deny that, but that's just icing on the cake!"

Suddenly Dick Grayson was directly in front of Lilith, offering her a small yellow communicator with the Titans trademark 'T' on the front. "Hey, since I'm the new leader, why don't I make this official?" He flashed his most convincing smile. "Join the team, Lilith!"

The telepath simply stared at the communicator, overwhelmed.

_ Omen: "Ever since I left home I've felt isolated, alone...this is the first time I've made friends in such a long time. This was the last thing I was expecting!"_

Dick placed the communicator in Lilith's hand, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Well? Say yes already!"

"I'm sorry guys...but I can't join."

_ Robin: "The hell? How did that not work?"_

Surprised faces and confused murmurs passed through the Titans. "But why?" asked Koriand'r. "Have we done something wrong?"

"Of course not," dismissed Lilith. "It's just...I still have a mission to complete, a past to uncover. I love you guys, but I'm not ready to abandon that yet!" She clutched the communicator, holding it tight against her chest. She was catching glimpses of the Titans' thoughts; even though they understood, it was still a blow.

That was when a perfect idea popped into Omen's head. "How about I be a part-time member?" The more she thought about the prospect, the more excited she became. "I can't live here at the Tower, but if you guys ever need my help, don't hesitate to call!"

"Right back atcha!" replied Robin.

"Please," entreated Raven, "Don't just stop by for business. We'd love to see you anytime."

"Of course!"

_ Omen: "Up until now, I couldn't help but to feel like a disappointment. I couldn't control my powers, was drawing a blank on finding my parents, even my plan against Jupiter was pretty ill-conceived. But I don't feel that anymore...working with the Titans has truly been a blessing. Hey, once my affairs are all in order, maybe I'll even join up full-time!"_

"Come to think of it..." Dick Grayson stroked his chin before turning back to the crowd. "Hey guys, this goes for all of you too!"

The rest of the Titans, as well as their friends in Titans East, drew close to their new leader. "This tower, it's not just for the seven of us! It's for _every_ Titan, from now until the end of time!" He extended his arm, his hand held out flat. "C'mon, you guys with me?"

"Of course!" replied Starfire, who, of course, was the first to reply. She smacked her hand down atop of Robin's; he tried not to wince.

Flamebird just looked at Dick, stunned. "_All_ of us? Really?"

"That's what I said!"

_ Robin: "Yeah, once upon a time I couldn't stand Flamebird, but I was mostly scared of how she reflected on _me_. But now it's my job to inspire these guys, and if Bette can improve, anyone can! Us Titans are the next generation of heroes! You'll see—someday we'll leave the Justice League in the dust!"_

"Then I'm in too!" exclaimed Bette, throwing her hand down as well.

One by one hands followed suit, and Dick's smile grew larger with each successive slap. Even Tim Drake threw in his cooperation. His body tensed, preparing for that moment when they would all pull their hands into the air. "Alright guys, let's do this!"

"Titans—"

"TOGETHER!"

*****EPILOGUE*****

The sun moved across the sky, eventually beginning to cross the horizon; the evening sky changed to a beautiful purple and blue as time passed into the evening.

Negotiations were swift and, for the most part, uncomplicated. The massive crowd that had gathered on Titans Island started to thin; as soon as Batman uncuffed him, Matt Logan made a swift exit. Sarah Simms had school the next morning. Tim Drake simply vanished when nobody was looking.

Beast Boy and Animal Man—neither needed for the negotiations—had returned to Buddy's house for the vegan barbeque, something Vic and Wally refused to acknowledge existed. Lilith Clay teleported away in a haze of distorted, twisted air, hoping her trail of clues hadn't grown cold during her time helping the Titans.

Arsenal was ready to refocus on his true calling—drug busting. Impulse saw a puppy, followed it, got bored, and ran to play arcade games in Japan. Speed shuttled Magenta home before picking up his aunt and uncle for their Parisian dinner. Herald and Bumblebee stepped through a portal, Karen ecstatic that she'd gained a chance to use the Justice League research center, and Mal just ecstatic to see _Karen_ ecstatic. Flamebird met up with her cousin Kate and shared her heroic tales with anyone within earshot.

Raven sat on the tower's roof, observing it all from a safe distance.

All the while Robin and Starfire stood side-by-side, arms looped, sometimes in various states of making out, sometimes just watching the sun disappear. Behind them negotiations raged, and eventually contracts were signed. The League bid the Titans farewell, vanishing in the same resplendent light that had brought them in the first place. The DEO helicopter, ascending into the evening sky, carried away the strangely satisfied Daniel Chase and Ace Atchinson, who was so overwhelmed by the success of his assignment that he was crying. The lovebirds noticed none of it.

"Is not the sky beautiful, Dick?" asked the bronze-skinned princess, who couldn't help but to remember that Tamaran's skies _always_ looked like this.

Smirking, Dick shrugged. "It ain't bad." He squeezed his hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "_You _look better to me!"

Kory giggled.

"Good job helping with the negotiations, _team leader_."

The acrobat turned to see that the island had finally emptied. Wonder Girl stood behind him, arms crossed, but the smirk on her face told Dick that she wasn't entirely serious.

"Not really my thing," dismissed Robin. "I just like tellin' you guys what to do."

"Obviously," laughed Donna. "And if you weren't so good at it, I'd be pretty pissed!"

Suddenly the space between them lit up purple and green; a second later Beast Boy emerged from the League's teleporter, rubbing his enlarged stomach, no doubt stuffed to capacity with imitation meat.

"You guys have no idea what you missed!" exclaimed the boy, licking his lips.

"You got that right," grumbled Victor Stone, the flesh half of his face scrunched in a grimace. "Who _knows_ what's in that fake meat!" He shook his head. "It ain't natural!"

Gar moved to retort, but was cut off by a quick flash of yellow and the flying sand it left in its wake. In an instant each Titan found themselves holding a beret; the gift giver, Wally West, skidded to a stop a few feet away.

"Souvenirs!" called the speedster, holding another beret above his head. "Where's Raven? I've got one for her too!"

The beret suddenly floated out of Speed's hand, enveloped in a field of ethereal white energy. Raven descended from her perch, lowering herself gently to the ground, pulling back her hood, and letting the French hat settle on her tiny head.

"Thank you, Wally!" she said with a hugely genuine smile.

Dick poked at a bag Wally held in his other hand, filled to the brim with French pastries. "Where'd you get the _dough_ for all this junk?"

"Back when my body was gone, I never spent any of the salary MTV paid me," answered the fastest teen alive. "So I've got plenty to spare!" Realizing what he had just set himself up for, he quickly added, "And no, you can't borrow any."

Robin's face fell, but not due to the rejection; he was just sad that nobody had noticed his pun!

"Y'know," said Gar, circling Wally and looking him up and down, "Now that you're stickin' 'round here full time, you need a new codename!"

"What's wrong with Speed?"

"It's _boring!_" exclaimed Beast Boy. "'Sides, I think it's already taken." He scratched his chin and tapped his foot. "Wait, I've got it!

"We'll call you _Kid Flash!_"

He was met by a blank, stony stare from Wally.

"Gar, that is _literally_ the stupidest codename I've ever heard in my entire life."

Beast Boy just shrugged.

"Um," chimed in Raven in her tiny, hesitant voice, "Sorry to interrupt, but my stomach hurts." She cocked her head, searching the artificial memories that filled her mind for the proper words. "I think I'm hungry."

"Have a croissant!" suggested Wally, tossing a pastry to the tiny empath.

Raven took a bite, and immediately her eyes lit up. "That was _amazing_!"

"I know, right?" echoed Wally as he pulled three from his bag, devouring them in the blink of an eye. "Man, I was pretty starved too!"

"Didn't you just finish some fancy French dinner?" asked Vic, staring incredulously at the speedster. "Where're you findin' the _room_ for that?"

Wally chuckled and contemplated eating a fourth. "I just ran half-way across the world to get back here. It's a good way to work up an appetite."

"I know!" exclaimed Starfire, startling everybody present as she leapt into the air. "I shall make us a traditional Tamaranian celebratory dinner!"

Gar's face turned even greener. It was a good thing he'd already eaten—Kory's cooking _usually_ meant a night of going hungry for him!

"Sounds good to me," smiled Donna, who had often found herself cooking the meals, even if she had just as often thought it anti-feminist. "I have a phone call I need to make anyway."

Whistling, Wally ventured, "Wow, got another boyfriend already?"

Donna lowered her head. "Actually...I'm calling my mother."

"Really?" Robin was as excited as his girlfriend usually was.

"Yeah," shyly continued the adopted Amazon. "No matter who she is or what she's done, she's still family. I want to meet her." A second of awkward silence passed before Donna shot forward, wrapping her arms around Dick to form a quite uncharacteristic bear-hug.

"Thank you for finding her for me."

The Titans watched for a few seconds; then Cyborg took off running towards the Tower door. "Alright, I've got dibs on the bacon, y'all!"

"Ooh!" cried Koriand'r as she took to the sky, "And I claim the Sharnagle Beetles!"

As the team moved for the Tower, only Beast Boy was left behind. The spindly shapeshifter stood with his thoughts racing, something just not seeming right.

"Wait, guys!"

The team stopped in their tracks, turning to their trailing teammate with a mixture of annoyance and concern. "What is wrong, Gar?"

"Well..." Garfield stammered for a second. "It's just...this is _it_? We beat up Trigon, meet with a few heroes, and now everything goes back to normal?" He paused, not sure quite exactly what he was trying to say. "I guess I was just expecting something more."

Wally scratched his chin. "The kid's right. It _is_ kinda anti-climatic."

"That's because it ain't the _end_!" proclaimed Robin, taking central-stage. "We've got a million more mornings to wake up to now! We're teenagers! We're so far from the end it ain't funny!" Dick Grayson's smile filled his entire face, completely genuine, entirely enthusiastic. "We're _super-heroes_ guys! We've got nothin' but adventures to look forward to! This ain't the end!

"It's just the beginning!"

_ Robin: "Superman calls it a 'never-endin' battle, an' we're definitely in it til' the end! After all—"_

_ Raven: "We care for the hurt and abused!"_

_ Cyborg: "We protect the innocent!"_

_ Starfire: "We punish the guilty!"_

_ Speed: "When we screw up, we never let it stop us!"_

_ Wonder Girl: "We're super-heroes, but we're _more_ than that—"_

_ Beast Boy: "—We're a _family_!"_

_ Robin: "Hell, we're the friggin' _future_ of super-heroes!"_

_ Everybody: "WE'RE THE TEEN TITANS!"_

**Robin**—Dick Grayson: Team leader; extroverted acrobat, detective, and martial artist.

**Wonder Girl**—Donna Troy: Focused Amazon warrior drawing experience from numerous cultures.

**Speed**—Wally West: Chosen by the Speed Force to be the fastest teen alive!

**Cyborg**—Victor Stone: Half man, half machine—all heart.

**Starfire**—Princess Koriand'r: Pure-hearted alien powerhouse making Earth her new home.

**Beast Boy**—Garfield Logan: Green animal shapeshifter with more strength than he realizes.

**Raven**: Newborn empath, kind-hearted and innocent.

**THE END**

_**Author's Notes: **__Well, that's it, guys! It's been a great ride! I had a blast writing this story, and I want to thank every one of you for sticking around and checking out my work!_

_But don't go away just yet! Coming up next: "Commentary!" I'll be rereading this entire story and providing my commentary, behind the scenes tidbits, character bios, and more! If that's not your thing, you won't be missing out on any of the story, but if it is, then be sure to check back in!_

_Until then, stay gold, guys!_

_-Pivitor_


	28. Commentary

"**All Star Teen Titans"**

**a.k.a.**

"**The Real World: Titans Tower"**

**Writer's Commentary:**

Hey guys, Pivitor here! This here is a little bonus I like to add to the end of every story I write. It's the writer's commentary. Here, I'll reread the entire story and give you my thoughts, like a director's commentary on a DVD. I'll also go into the details of the creation of the story, and provide character bios at the end.

This is not required reading to understand the story, so if this isn't your sort of thing, there's no requirement to read it. But if, like me, you're the kind of person who loves commentary, then I hope you enjoy!

And sorry it took so long!

**THE ORIGIN OF "THE REAL WORLD: TITANS TOWER"**

The idea of turning the Teen Titans into a reality show isn't an idea I can claim I came up with on my own, sadly. I had seen the idea passed around on the internet for years before I actually started writing the story. I forget what exactly inspired me to start writing a story based off the premise: I think someone on a forum I frequented simply mentioned that they would like to see that story written, so I started right on it.

Two pieces of fan-art shaped a lot of this story, and unfortunately, I no longer have either picture or the names of the artists who drew them. The first, I believe, might have been from Wizard Magazine, or something similar, and it depicted _their_ takes on what a Teen Titans reality show might be like. While most of their concepts I ignored (A pompous, distant Aqualad and a quirky goth Raven), I did like their take on Robin, and ended up using it as a starting point for my own revamped version of Dick Grayson. This piece of fan-art also gave me the idea to change one thing in the past of each Titan and see how it affected their personality and team dynamics, which ended up being, in my opinion, the most important part of the story (if the Titans were exactly the same as they were in the comics or TV show, there would have been no point in even writing this.)

The second piece of fan-art was a drawing of the seven Wolfman/Perez era Titans in redesigned costumes. While all the characters looked great, what really got my attention was its depiction of Raven as a dark, ghoul-like figure perpetually hidden behind a haggard, shredded cloak. This became the visual inspiration for my new take on Raven.

One final idea gave genesis to this story, and this one wasn't from comics or fandom at all, but actually from reality television in general:

**THE CONFESSIONAL**

I love writing in first person. Honestly, I'd rather write in first person perspective over third person any day of the week. The problem with first person, however, is that it's limited in a lot of ways. The story can only be told from the viewpoint of one character, and in the stories I write, I change scenes and perspectives quite often.

Super-hero comics have it a little easier. Narration boxes allow us to use first person perspective to explore the character's inner thoughts better, but the pictures can explore things out of the narrator's thoughts or line of sight, and the comic can drop the narration for a scene or two to switch to another location, or even contain narration from multiple characters in a single book, which is harder for prose to pull-off.

That's why, when I was thinking about reality shows and remembering what little of "The Real World" that I had watched in real life (I think I watched the New Orleans season, but that's it), the idea of the confessional really jumped out on me. It's a standard reality show trope that pretty much every program uses, but it's a bit more unique for written stories. And it would allow me to take a first person look into the minds of the Titans without losing the ability to change locations and viewpoints on a whim. Since I considered this story a bit of a character study to begin with, it did a lot to shape the tone of the story.

The confessionals even changed the way I wrote the actual prose to the story; in a segment where I wasn't changing locations, I could use a confessional as a segue way between one character's perspective and another's.

That said, I played a little fast and loose with the confessionals. In reality TV shows, situations play out over a much longer period of time, giving the "actors" multiple opportunities to go to the confessional fresh after a confrontation has occurred. In my story, sometimes several chapters would pass before a character would have a chance to go to the confessional. Despite this, however, when giving their confessions, the characters still act as if events are happening to them right that moment.

This is because I largely used the confessions as first-person narration, like in a comic book, but within the universe of the story itself, I imagine that the Titans were being coached to give their confessionals as if the events were happening to them right that second. Upon entering the booth they would rewatch the footage of their battles, and respond as if it were happening right that second.

The confessional was also a challenge when characters died. Tara last used the confessional in Chapter 22, but died in Chapter 24. Once the mission started in Chapter 23, Tara never had another chance to use the confessional, so I was forced to not have any confessions from Tara in Chapter 23 and 24, despite it being huge foreshadowing to her death. Nobody seemed to notice, but it was frustrating, because I would have liked to have kept using her perspective up until her death, but it would have broken too many established rules of my universe.

**CURSING**

Whenever scenes in "The Real World: Titans Tower" took place "On The Air", I wrote them as if we were watching the finished, edited episodes of their show ourselves. The "On The Air" scenes were exactly what the viewers of the show in the story's universe saw. So one thing I used to help convey that was the cursing. Just like a real reality show, whenever someone used a curse On-Air, it was "bleeped" out—which, for my story, meant I would strike through the word with dashes.

I tried to follow the same standards the FCC would—minor words like "damn" and "hell" got by fine. I wasn't consistent with "bitch", which sometimes I bleeped, sometimes I didn't. This wasn't on purpose. I also followed some of the sillier rules they use to edit words on TV: for example, when the word "goddamn" is said, the word "god" is bleeped out, not damn. It's the same for "asshole": "Hole" is bleeped out, not ass.

This didn't work out exactly the way I wanted. The main reason is because of the formatting standards here on this website. When bleeping out a word, I would put down the first letter of the curse, followed by a dash for every letter I was editing, so it would be easy for the readers to know what word was being said. For example, "asshole" would be assh, followed by three dashes. Unfortunately, this website would scrunch those three dashes together into one, making it much harder to figure out what I was trying to say sometimes. By the time I realized this it was too late to change it.

My bleeping also caused a problem when I would write scenes _off _the air. Thanks to the bleeping, I could get away with characters (_especially_ Robin) using much harsher curses than my story's rating allows. Unfortunately, when I would then use the same characters in off the air scenes, it would seem off to me when they _weren't _using the harsher curses. Eventually I just went with it and started using some unedited curses in off the air scenes, but I'm not happy that it came to that. I would have rather kept the level of cursing, bleeped or otherwise, down in the first place.

Still, it amuses me that I wrote a story where cursing became such a notable plot point.

**THEMES**

For better or for worse, I'm not the kind of guy who starts off a story with a specific theme I want to write about. I generally focus on character development and plot first; usually if I focus on those, _especially_ character development, common themes will fall into place.

I think themes are entirely subjective, and I want to let you, my readers, uncover them for yourself rather than have me, the author, shove my thoughts down your throat. After all, once my words go down on paper, I lose a lot of authority to say what they mean, because truthfully, they mean something different to every reader.

But there are two major themes in this story I did want to point out. For each Titan, no matter how different their character arc, they were all basically trying to become a hero. Robin followed the most typical version of that theme, but it was there for all of them, _maybe_ even Raven if you look at her hard enough. The second theme is simpler, but no less important:

_Reality TV is staged_.

**COMMENTARY**

**CHAPTER 1: THE SEVEN STRANGERS:**

Re-reading this first chapter is a little frustrating to me. Originally, when I wrote it, I wanted to include three things in this chapter: The characters meeting, a fight scene, and the typical reality shows shenanigans. I ended up moving the fight scene to Chapter Two and focusing more on the reality show stuff, but as the story progressed and became more and more of a superhero story, I started to regret that decision. If I had to rewrite this chapter, I would start it with the Dr. Light fight, cutting back and forth between that fight and the first meeting of the seven Titans. That's not to say that I don't like this chapter, but without an action scene it feels like it's missing some of that bang that a first chapter needs.

I never got much of a chance to address Dick's life at the circus or how he interacted with the performers there, but this first scene, with the circus saying farewell to Dick, says a lot to me. Everybody at the circus watched Dick grow up. After his parents died, they basically raised him—and it's obvious that they spoiled him rotten. I feel this is where my version of Dick Grayson varies from the DCU Canon: Being raised by Batman helped temper Dick's natural enthusiasm and arrogance, where being raised at the circus helped to encourage it.

Another weird part about reading these early chapters is noticing how _rarely_ Dick curses in them. It's odd to me that Dick actually curses _more_ as the story progresses. That wasn't intentional, it was just something that happened as I discovered Dick's voice.

Dick hitting on the girl waiting at the bus stop is weird to me. It seems unnecessary in retrospect, since his interactions with Donna and Kory clearly establish that part of his personality. Plus, having that girl waiting on Jupiter's closed set was awkward, and necessitated a complicated explanation for why they let her stay on set. Oh well.

I hope this doesn't sound too negative so far. So, for something positive: I really like Raven's entrance here. She's the character who changed the least over the course of the story (this was on purpose), and I like that she was disconcerting and distant from the very start.

"**At least wait until we're all together before ripping each other apart again—I sense they are near." **Uh-oh, Raven just used a contraction. That's a no-no! She isn't supposed to use contractions in her speech, that's a mistake. Starfire, who _also_ does not use contractions, ends up doing this at least twice in this chapter, and that's also a mistake. I wonder how I missed that?

I'm not sure why I decided to have Beast Boy and Cyborg's friendship already established before they appeared on screen. Seeing their friendship grow could have been an interesting sub-plot for the first few chapters—then again, with most of the Titans at odds to begin with, it was nice having a few characters who genuinely cared about each other from the get-go.

"_**Or at least those of us who still can be saved." **_Look, guys! We're only half-way through the first chapter, and already Raven's hinted pretty clearly about her endgame!

Starfire being unable to read English never really became a plot point, but it was something that made sense to me—Starfire is capable to absorbing languages through touch, but just because she can speak a language doesn't necessarily mean she can read it. There were a few things about Starfire's background that I had planned to explore, including the effects of Jupiter basically _purchasing her like a slave from the Gordanians, _but never found a place where it really worked in the story.

Mr. Jupiter is an actual character from the comics, a businessman who helped manage the original team of the Teen Titans in the 70s. He was _nothing_ like the version of Jupiter I used in this story. Even his bad-fashion sense is something I made up; if Jupiter dressed poorly in the comics, it was because it was the 70s, not because of a character flaw.

_**Beast Boy: "It's been a long, long time since I've had a nice house to live in…" **_Beast Boy's bout of homelessness between the death of the Doom Patrol and the forming of the Titans—as well as his lack of education due to it—was another plot point I had originally planned to spend a lot more time exploring. Just like with Kory, I never got much of an opportunity to do it. I think it's an interesting plot to explore, it just never really fit in with the ongoing narrative I was telling.

"**Why did he even sign up for this?" **This line pretty much sums up the theme of the first five chapters—there's a lot going on, but the major mystery I was using was _why_ exactly did each member of Titans join the team? By answering this, we learn more about the characters and then I can make the plot and villains more important.

**A clicking sound came from Cyborg's head as Beast Boy frantically pulled his camera phone from his side. **I didn't think much of it at the time, but Vic taking pictures of naked Starfire bugs me now. As for Gar, him having a camera phone makes no sense. At this point I knew he was poor and had already established that he had been homeless, so I don't know how he could possibly afford a camera-phone. I ignored back-story for a quick joke, and that's sloppy.

Also, Beast Boy's a little hornball in these early chapters. He was a lot like that in the original Wolfman/Perez comics too, that's probably where it came from, but it seems strange to me, since in my story, Gar eventually became a lot more innocent and later seemed to only be forming an interest in girls around the time Tara showed up. Oh well.

Donna Troy has a Razr cell phone. Can you tell this chapter was written in 2007? Those things were all the rage then and I _hated_ them, but it seemed like the phone Donna would have. I find it funny that a new version of the Razr is being released now.

_**Starfire: "They say I am naïve, but Gar has no idea what a tentacled sea-creature on the face suggests where I come from!"**_My favorite line from this chapter.

**CHAPTER 2: THE FIRST FIGHT:**

"**Nice try, Sunfire, but my light far outshines even yours!" **Silly Dr. Light, Starfire isn't an X-Men!

What's this? Dr. Light is just about to reveal why he's attacking the Titans, but Raven interrupts him?! Could she have something to hide?! (Yes. Yes she does)

There are several references to Dr. Light having built his super-suit—but how could an idiot like Light build something so powerful? This is the first of many references to the comic book story "Identity Crisis" in my story. In Identity Crisis, it is revealed that Dr. Light was once a criminal mastermind until he was brainwashed and made dumb by the Justice League. This is the backstory for Dr. Light in my universe too, although the circumstances leading to Light's mindwipe aren't _exactly_ the same: Sue Dibny wasn't raped in my universe, for example. I really liked Identity Crisis when I first started writing this story, but now I believe a lot of it is better off forgotten, which is why I never addressed Light's past later in the story.

I've never been quite clear about Donna's power level, and how it compares to Wonder Woman's and the other Amazons'. I think I've made several contradicting statements about it in the story. Well, here's how I view it: Donna is physically the strongest Titan, with Starfire coming in second. Donna is stronger than the average Amazon, but weaker than Wonder Woman. This is now canon, even if it contradicts what I stated in the story.

And here's the first appearance of Cyborg's energy shield! It's my favorite of Vic's weapons, and my favorite addition I made to the character in general. Have any of you seen the anime "Zoids"? If you have, picture the energy shields used by some of the Zoids, such as the Shield/Blade Liger. If you've seen one of those, then you've seen Vic's energy shield. If not, Google Image Search might be able to help.

"**What about the Vigilante and Black Adam and that Question guy?" Beast Boy asked with a puzzled look on his green face. "Don't they kill sometimes? Or are they **_**anti-heroes**_**…" **Beast Boy is very genre-savvy, this is something I bring to the character no matter what universe I'm writing him in. He's my mouthpiece for pop-culture!

Cyborg calling Starfire "Starry" as a nickname is something I lifted straight from Wolfman/Perez's New Teen Titans, cause it's something I love and something I made sure to keep using throughout the entire story.

Originally, this chapter wasn't going to end with Light's defeat. Originally, most of the contents of Chapter 3—the various meet-ups between the Titans—were going to be the coda to Chapter 2, and then Chapter 3 was going to be focused entirely on the Titans training. This changed for two reasons: One, because by the time Light was defeated, the chapter was long enough as it was. Two, because I realized I had absolutely zero interest in writing a chapter about the Titans training. So that became a _very _minor element of Chapter 3 instead.

**CHAPTER 3: "TEAM" TITANS:**

The title of this chapter is a reference to a very minor, very shortlived group of Teen Titans from the future who existed during the 90s. Terra II and Mirage are the only members of this group anybody remembers or that anybody ever bothered to use in the comics again after the book ended (the other members of the team were _erased from history_), but Kilowatt from the Teen Titans Animated Series was also a member of the Team Titans.

I'm not sure why Gar's eating a tofu waffle. Waffles aren't meat in the first place, he can eat it, there's no reason to substitute it.

I think this is the first time I've read this chapter in literally years, so I had completely forgotten about Dick fighting a training robot meant to take on Donna and getting his butt handed to him. I like that fight. Robin's slipping more into his regular voice, and it's funny but still a little dangerous. That was a fun surprise.

"**Has a pack of wild Flemshires been seen in the area?"** In the Teen Titans Animated Series, the writers often named Tamaranian phrases after writers on the show. A lot of my friends have boring names, but I _try_ to do the same; Flemshire is a mixture of the two last names of a mixed-family I know.

"**It's an invention to use against Dr. Light if he attacks us again." **And here's some foreshadowing I didn't mention again until Chapter 19. Obviously, here Cyborg was building the Light Refraction unit he used to defeat Dr. Light much later on in the story, and that was the plan from the start. I like that Cyborg is a hero who can better himself mechanically, and it makes sense that, if there was an invention that could even the odds against an opponent who was _obviously_ going to attack again, he would install it to be ready. It's smart, and Vic is smart.

Robin is interesting to me in these early chapters. Obviously his flirting and overtly sexual comments were never supposed to be a good thing, but when I first wrote them I found them funny; now, five years later, I just cringe. It's a good thing he mellowed out so much. His sexual side is nowhere near as bad when directed towards a willing recipient (Starfire).

**CHAPTER 4: A CHANCE TO SHINE!:**

Wow, I forgot I had Slade blow up four helicopters at the beginning of this chapter. And Jupiter wanted him to do it to "monopolize coverage of the fight." Wow. At this point in the story I knew Jupiter was a major villain, but I don't remember exactly what backstory I was using for him at the time (there were several; see his character bio for more details.) I must say, though, ruthlessly ordering the deaths of hundreds of civilians just to drum up ratings feels more evil to me than _anything_ Jupiter did as Psimon.

**Suddenly her escape was cut short by a line of automatic fire. **I know nothing about guns. In fact, I hate guns. So I had to ask a friend for information about guns for the Deathstroke segment so it had at least _some_ shred of realism to it. Like the above. Automatic fire. It's been explained to me multiple times, but I still don't get it.

**The fires extinguished, as with the speed needed for the chemicals to react and create them gone they could no longer exist. **I still think this is one of the cooler things I've done in this story. All fire is a chemical reaction. No reactions—no fire.

I find it funny that I'm painting Donna as a somewhat incompetent leader in these earlier chapters. I mean, it's obvious that Donna is horrible at dealing with people and that her priorities are off, at least before the death of Terry, but by the end of the story I was thinking of her as someone who was pretty great, tactically; just awful at directing people. Yet, in these early chapters she's getting outshined by Vic at every corner. Hm, if I could rewrite these early chapters I'd make her a little less pathetic.

My version of Dick Grayson must be the only version in all of the multiverse who actually _likes_ wearing a cape.

"**I guess you're done here," growled Wally as energy fluctuated from his shattered arm, **_**adding**_** speed to Deathstroke's flight. "Get out of my sight." **This is definitely one of Wally's cooler moments. Punching Deathstroke in the face and then _adding_ speed to send him flying? Bad_ass_. Same for the line.

**He was clad in a white, black and green uniform, an odd oblong emblem on the upper left side of his chest. A green mask hid half of his face. **Obviously Kyle Rayner here is wearing his original costume from the 90s, and you know what? I like that outfit, but the thing's strange. Five years later and I still have no idea how to describe it. Better to just be vague in this story.

**CHAPTER 5: GUEST STARRING THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA!:**

This is kinda silly, but I regret calling them the Justice League of America. With the exception of the International League, which is UN Sanctioned, it always seems weird for the world's mightiest heroes to ally themselves to only one nation. I should have just called them League, or the Justice League Unlimited if I wanted a fancy acronym (JLA/JLU).

On that subject, this League is obviously modeled after the animated version of the Justice League from the Bruce Timm series in the early 2000s. It has the same seven founding members, same origin story, and the same expansion into eventually including _practically every hero on the planet_, although Hawkgirl's betrayal hasn't happened. I'm not sure if it ever _will_ in this universe.

I didn't really spend much time on the relationship between Donna and Wonder Woman, but I really like that we finally get to see some of it in this chapter. People consider Wonder Woman to be perfect, so it's no surprise that Donna feels inferior next to her. The fact that Diana isn't doing it on purpose only makes Donna feel worse. Donna has become one of my favorite characters in this story, and this is the first time in the story it feels like we really understand why she acts the way she does.

"**Sorry to interrupt here," began Victor Stone, "but where's Superman?!" **Actually, in my original plan Superman _was_ going to show up in this chapter. Originally I wanted the animosity between the League and the Titans to be real, their fights to be real, and it would be broken up by Superman's arrival. But the two teams fighting then making up felt tired. Raven manipulating the team into fighting each other provided a much better cliffhanger, moved the plot forward, and made the events of this chapter make a lot more sense—and feel a lot more important. I'm actually happy I saved Superman for a later chapter, cause then it felt more important when he _did_ show up too!

This chapter contains the first telling of Slade's backstory. I changed some of the details when I did the POV chapter on Slade later in the story. I was able to explain the discrepancies involving Wintergreen, but the one about the time of Adeline's death is a little more glaring. Consider it a retcon; the explanation I gave in Chapter 17 is canon.

Besides the League, I give shout outs to a lot of other DC Heroes in this chapter. Some of them work—Green Arrow's grudge with Slade reoccurs once or twice—while some don't—the jokes about Booster and Beetle were unnecessary. One mention I'm fine with is Max Mercury, the Zen Master of Speed, mentor to several generations of Speedsters. In the comics he was Impulse's mentor, but in my universe, I haven't decided if Impulse lives with Barry or with Max yet.

**Kyle Rayner just snickered. "Please, your little kid's table team can barely hold themselves together!" **It might not be obvious from his treatment in this story, but Kyle Rayner is my favorite Green Lantern. His obnoxious attitude towards the Titans is lifted from a comic called "JLA/Titans: The Technis Imperative." Kyle is funny and has a great imagination but man can he hold a grudge, and both in that story and in my own it comes out towards the Titans.

**Batman's eyes shot open wide like saucers. "Teleportation!"** This still makes me laugh every time I read it, I don't even know why.

"**I…I think the author just wants us to fight!" **Was it that obvious, Buddy? (Though, like I said, I did go out of the way for there to be a real _reason_ for the teams to be fighting).

_**It's not just a lie detector folks—it was able to even uncloud the manipulated mind of the mad war god Ares! **_This is a reference to Wonder Woman's first post-crisis adventure, written by George Perez (also one of the creators of the Titans!).

Starfire's original opponent in this chapter was going to be Martian Manhunter—which, believe me, I realize is a poor fit. The idea was that her Starbolts could be used to simulate fire, J'onn's weakness. I wasn't satisfied with the idea, and suddenly I saw a picture of Hawkgirl and my mind went "that's _perfect!_" Considering I used Hawkgirl to foreshadow the Gordanians, it would have been a shame to have used J'onn instead.

**and suddenly a giant green Amtrack train made of pure energy struck his opponent square in the stomach. **This was one of the first constructs Kyle created in the comics, using it against Mongul.

"**You used to be a part of the Doom Patrol—the weird and unbelievable was your specialty! You met a living street but can't question the very world that could create that?" **Here Animal Man is referring to Danny the Street, a creation of Grant Morrison who appeared in his Doom Patrol series. Ironically, as of March 2012, Danny has been revealed as the newest member of the rebooted Teen Titans. I never would've guessed it in a million years.

**But even the fastest land animal alive couldn't outrun the pure force of Animal Man landing after a seventy feet fall with the density of a blue whale.** The whole "density of a blue whale" thing was a trick I also used in an earlier fic of mine—it was also a running gag between myself and a friend that was, at the time, proofreading this story.

_**Beast Boy: "Take that! Doubt extinct animals are in this mighty morphin' field of yours!" **_My favorite line of the chapter.

**My last assault involved boxing, savate, knowledge of pressure points, karate and judo. **Just before writing this chapter I had bought a book called the "Batman Handbook", which is a fake "guide" on how to become Batman. The section about the various martial arts Batman has mastered was quite useful.

In my universe, Barry Allen seems to have starred in some of the adventures that Wally starred in in the original DC Canon. For example, in this chapter Flash mentions how he's been to the Speed Force, returned alive, and now mainlines its power. In the comics, Wally was the first speedster to accomplish this (during the "Terminal Velocity" storyline by Mark Waid).

"_**Of course, that whole vibrating thing. Y'know, I may not be the biggest physics buff, but I can't even begin to imagine all the universal laws that must break." **_I feel ya Wally, I've never understood why Barry was able to vibrate his molecules through solid objects in the first place.

**CHAPTER 6: INCOMING TROUBLE!:**

Okay, so while my goal for the first five chapters was to ask the question of why each Titan joined the team, my goal for chapters 6-9 was to introduce the supporting cast. I mean, obviously, that wasn't the overarcing story—that's Komand'r, Matt, and the relationships between Kory and Dick and Wally and Raven—but it was an important function of this second storyline.

Man, this bit with the team dancing to the disco music is a little corny. I think I just have an odd sense of humor, but still.

_**"This just mebbe my favorite invention of all—a remote control built right into my hand!"**_I'm insanely jealous.

**"Robin was thrown backwards as Koriand'r bursted forwards." **_Burst._ Burst forward. Wow. You can tell that this is the chapter where my proofreader bailed on me.

I'm just now, five years later, noticing that I never established how Matt _got_ to Titans Island. I mean, it's an _island_. In the last chapter of the story I threw in a scene of Matt and Sarah riding a self-propelled, T-Shaped raft to the island in order to answer this question. In the Wolfman/Perez comics in the 80s, this was what the non-flying Titans used to get to the island. In retrospect, however, I would rather have gone with the underwater tubes and chutes that were used in Geoff Johns' Teen Titans in the 2000s. It's a bit more modern. Either way there's no way Matt could have accessed them on his own, so the mystery continues (maybe Raven let him in?)

_**Cyborg: "Hell, if I saw my grandparents coming I'd run until my power sources died!" **_One of my reviewers mentioned that he couldn't wait until I used Vic's grandparents, and now I feel bad for including this line, since I never had any plans to use them in the story. It was just a shout-out. I'm not sure what to do with Vic's grandparents that Marv and George haven't already done.

In light of "Red Hood and the Outlaws" and all the controversy its caused, every time Donna and Kory get into an argument over feminism I cringe a little. I mean, in this particular discussion (beach volleyball), I do think both sides have a point, but I personally side more towards Donna's opinion (though, like always, her attitude doesn't help her get her point across). I don't remember _what_ I felt when I wrote the scene, or if I personally gave it any thought at all beyond what the _characters_ would think.

The club where the Titans are at—or at least, the roof, skylights, and dancefloor—are inspired by the club that the Titans visited in the second episode of the animated series "Sisters". Come to think of it, how did _they_ get in there?

**CHAPTER 7: THEY CAME THROUGH THE SKYLIGHTS:**

Warriors, in the comic, is a restaurant created by the Green Lantern Guy Gardner, but I stretched it a bit into a chain of nightclubs. I also mentioned it was founded by a "retired" superhero, but then have Kyle reference Guy as an active Lantern two chapters later, so my mistake. Also, the money loving boss I mentioned is, of course, Max Lord, who in the world of my story did _not_ turn evil and blow Ted Kord's brains out, which is always a plus.

I had completely forgotten that the kids on the Real World were usually roommates and didn't get their own rooms; making some of the Titans share rooms probably would've stirred up more drama. Then again, the reality show shenanigans fell more and more out of the spotlight as the story went on, so it probably would have been a waste of time anyway.

So I admit it, in the original Wolfman/Perez comics, I kinda ship Wally and Raven. Wally's such an eager romantic and Raven could have used the attention...I dunno, I'm glad Wally married Linda, but if Raven could have allowed herself to love, I think her and Wally would have been an interesting pairing. That's why it ended up being one of the first storylines I decided that I wanted to cover in this story, even if I did twist it into something much more sick and twisted than it already was to begin with.

**"This isn't a motherf-ing soap opera!" **I beg to differ, Matt.

"**Donna felt her patience growing thinner than a bulimic celebrity." **Hahahahahaha, favorite line of this chapter, I don't care if it's not dialogue.

**"Having heard the creature behind her, the girl swung her arm from her purse into the Gordanian's face, releasing a full can of mace. As the alien reeled in pain, she grabbed a bottle of beer in her other hand and span on the barstool, crushing the bottle aside its head." **I absolutely love this as an introduction to Sarah. I liked Sarah Simms in the comic, but she was always a little plain as well. I like making her a kickass, take-action kind of girl. She definitely wears the pants in her relationship with Vic, but he's cool with that, and so am I.

**CHAPTER 8: CHASE!:**

Like I said, I wanted to do more with the idea that Mr. Jupiter _bought_ Starfire from the Gordanians; I originally thought of her being confined to Earth because of the contract Jupiter signed, but eventually I realized that 1. it didn't open up as many story ideas as I thought, and 2. I would have had to reveal some of Jupiter's treachery too early, and that wouldn't have worked. I did have to keep reminding myself about it, though, to make sure that Jupiter mentioned it during his big monologue near the end of the story.

I wanted to hint from the very beginning that there was more to Jupiter than meets the eye. He could have taken down Komand'r easily with his psychic powers, but there was just little to gain from it. I have the idea that Jupiter _was _using his abilities to push the villains he met in the direction he wanted them to go, but I'm not sure if Komand'r was one of them or not.

Cassandra Cain is my favorite Batgirl, and her role in the story came up just because I wanted to write her (so it wasn't a big deal that she didn't show up again.) The idea that Barbara Gordon was _always_ Oracle just came from simplicities sake. Batman and the other heroes have been operating for a while now, but adding in a second Batgirl before even the first Robin would have stretched the timeline a lot.

**"Spinning, she knocked Robin aside, and as he skidded to a stop." **Considering that Dick is barefoot in this scene, this sounds painful.

Obviously the little Robin is Tim Drake, but considering that Dick didn't know his identity, I decided not to officially reveal this until we saw Tim "Off The Air" for the first time. I think it works in the narrative, but man, it got confusing sometimes, having two Robins. At first I had thought of having Tim be Nightwing, but when I realized that Tim needed to be the light to keep Dick on the straight-and-narrow, I realized him being Robin worked a lot better.

In a way, I regret introducing the Ben Folds Five CD—every time I try to use real music in my stories it just feels corny. The only reason for introducing it was so that I could use Ben Folds lyrics at the end of the Titans East storyline, and I _love_ the way that turned out, but setting it up was a little awkward. Anyway, adding the scene with Matt, Gar, and the CD to this chapter was a bit of an afterthought. It introduced the CD, but it _also_ served the purpose, hopefully, of showing that Matt wasn't a _complete_ waste of a human being. Even if he doesn't show it much, there is _some_ good inside of Matt.

"**Okay, second, but I **_**swear**_** that Supernova guy is doing something weird to be able to play as much as he does." **As some of you DC fans probably realized, this was a reference to Daniel Carter, the ancestor of Booster Gold, who used the Supernova costume—which froze the wearer's personal timeline—to play X-Box for weeks on end without pausing. He reminds me a lot of Matt, actually. It's a shame neither character probably exists in the reboot.

I really wanted to make you guys think, as I lead up to the cliffhanger of this chapter, that Komand'r had murdered Matt. I'm not sure how well that worked, but I do like the tension building up to that moment where Wally opens the door to instead see the two of them together in bed.

Also, just a little detail, but I like that Komand'r's on top when she and Matt sleep together.

**CHAPTER 9: RELATIVE CHAOS!:**

**"Komand'r had let this wretched boy **_**inside**_** her just to devastate Starfire, yet she didn't even bat an eye."** Rereading this storyline, this is what jumps out at me the most about Komand'r. Here is a girl who is willing to sleep with someone she absolutely despises, who is willing to undergo terrifying, painful procedures, all just to screw with her sister's head. She may hate Kory, but I get the impression that, perhaps more than anything, Komand'r hates _herself._

**"The beautiful alien floated across the floor of her brightly colored room, sweeping across the walls and furniture with a feather duster—she only stirred up clouds of dust, though Starfire seemed oblivious to this." **I despise feather dusters, those things are so useless.

The dynamic between Kory and Komand'r is more and more interesting the more I think about it. Komand'r thinks Kory's spoiled, but at the same time, it appears that a lot of Kory's adaptability, people skills, and cheerfulness was learned by living through the traumatic events that Komand'r inflicted on her in the first place. We could debate nature vs. nurture all day, but it's entirely possible that Kory _could_ have been a spoiled brat had she had a perfect, royal life on Tamaran. If Komand'r hates the way Kory is now, that's partially her own fault.

**"Are we going to do some stupid song and dance number for them, like the 'Sound of Music' or something?" **I can't draw for crap, but I'd love to see fanart of this.

I had forgotten why I added the scene where Gar tries to tagalong on Dick and Kory's picnic, since I never really followed up on Dick's promise to him (beside a sentence later, I think.) Then I got to the part where Gar revealed to Komand'r that Dick and Kory liked each other, and I was like "Oh yeah, _that's_ why that scene was there!" Rereading these old chapters is fun, there's a lot of stuff that's surprising me.

_**"Of course, I am rather sure he simply **_**bought**_** the food from that Kentucky place with the pleasant looking man with the white beard on the sign." **_Favorite line of the chapter.

It was originally my intention to have Starfire gradually start using contractions in her speech as the story continued along and she acclimated more to Earth, but every time I tried, her speech patterns just sounded wrong. Also, I was slightly worried that people might not catch on and might think I was writing her out of character. I'm sorry if I doubted you, readers, but I do think I made the right choice in the end.

In the comics, Raven healed others by absorbing their pain into herself—so her healing abilities were limited by how much pain she could bear. In my story, however, Raven healed Gar and Matt's injuries instantly and completely with no discomfort. Why do her abilities work differently? They don't. The misanthropic Raven used her Soul Self to redirect the pain she absorbed from those she healed to other random people around the world. Nobody ever said she was nice.

I love how awkward Beast Boy is every time he tries to talk about sex. He's the youngest of the Titans and the most inexperienced, so it's all so weird to him. Hell, Matt having sex at _all_ is pretty weird.

General Karras, who in this story was Kory's first crush, in the comics was one of the Tamaranians that Starfire was forced to marry at one point in order to save her planet from destruction by Blackfire. He wound up dead in _that_ continuity too.

Ugh, I am noticing far too many five-year-old typos in this chapter :(

**"I'll try to pull in Guy or John to replace me while I'm gone!"** Yeah, no mention of Hal Jordan. He's my least favorite Lantern, so I just don't feel like namedropping him.

_**Robin: "Wow, the one time I'm not trying I'm totally a pimp!" **_That's generally how it works, Dick.

**Donna Troy lay on her side on her bed, a glum expression on her face as she wrote in her diary. **Hey, it's the first mention of Donna's diary! Foreshadowing!

**CHAPTER 10: TITANS EAST:**

The events of the Titans East/Brotherhood of Evil storyline (Chapters 10-13) were drawn from a large variety of comic book sources. The idea of a secondary team of B-List Titans has been around since the 70's and was even included in the animated series (although my roster is a changeup). Beast Boy's fight against Madame Rouge references The New Teen Titans #13-15. Meanwhile, the rest of the Brotherhood showdown was inspired by The New Teen Titans #29-31, a storyline where the seven Teen Titans, _plus_ Speedy, Terra and Frances Kane, confront the Brotherhood.

I kind of wish this chapter had _just_ been Titans East and that I hadn't had the scenes with the other Titans, but at the same time, I also really didn't want to have two chapters of establishing stuff before we got to the point of the storyline, so I guess it's fine the way it is.

Cardy Cafe, of course, is a reference to Nick Cardy, the main artist of the original "Teen Titans" book in the 60s and one of the most beloved Titans artists of all.

**"You didn't think I was going to test them first? I've just got to call up Belle Reeve and find the **_**perfect**_** opponent for them…" However, as he thought of the abilities possessed by Titans East, he decided his choice in prisons could use a little changing. "No, actually I think I'd be better off contacting **_**Iron Heights**_**..." **Belle Reve (wow, I misspelled that in the chapter) is a pretty generic DC prison, and one where most of the metahuman villains are stored. Iron Heights is the prison in Keystone City, home of the Flash, where the Flash's Rogues are kept. Girder, the enemy Jupiter chose to challenge Titans East, is one of Flash's Rogues, so that's why he chose to call Iron Heights.

I'll go more into this in the character bios, but the Titans East that appears in my story was not the first line-up that I came up with. They definitely underwent some changes before I actually started writing them, but all the changes were for the best. I love writing Titans East _almost_ as much as the regular Titans.

When I first introduce Arsenal, I call him an agent of Checkmate, but later on I contradict myself and call him a DEO agent (and keep up with this for the rest of the story.) This was just a mix-up, but I like Roy as a DEO agent more, so consider that the real canon. Regardless, neither organization should have much to do with stopping drug trafficking, so who knows who Roy's working with in that regard.

I have no idea what Mal Duncan's origin story is in the actual DC comics, and all I know about Bumblebee is that she became a superhero just because he was. I decided to flip things a bit, and make Bumblebee the instigator of their superhero-dom, and Mal just coming along for the ride. It only seemed fair. (This seems to be the direction that the "Young Justice" animated series is taking the characters as well, but _I _did it first) I love the concept and powers of the characters, but I've never seen someone write them interestingly in the comics, so it was fun kind of creating their personalities from the ground up.

**"Don't you ever **_**think**_**?" "Sometimes," admitted Bart as he bit his lower lip in thought. "It usually just messes everythin' up though." **Bart's bad at thinking, guys. It's pretty much canon.

**"As Bette Kane had implied, the new arrival wasn't her relative—though, since her name was Frances Kane, it was obvious why Flamebird had to specify."** Why _is_ Kane such a common last name in the Titans universe? Besides these two, there's also Deathstroke's wife and Jericho's mother, Adeline Kane. Two of these three characters were created by Marv Wolfman. Did he even realize he gave them all the same last name?

I know that throughout this entire story I alternate between calling Magenta "Francis" Kane and "Frances" Kane. The correct one is "Frances"; I need to go back and change it, at least in my own personal copies of the chapters.

**"Grife! No matter how many times I him 'em it just hurts **_**me**_**, not him!" **Grife, of course, is a future curse-word, commonly used in the time period of the Legion of Superheroes, where Bart was born.

Arsenal and Impulse, in the original comics, were briefly teammates on the Zero Hour team of Titans, the last line-up Marv Wolfman wrote before the series was cancelled. Impulse looked up to Roy like an older brother, and though they didn't interact much since, I did draw a little on that for their interactions in this chapter.

The rivalry and showdown between Magenta and Girder was inspired by Geoff Johns' first Flash run, specifically the "Crossfire" storyline, where Magenta defected from the Rogues in spectacular manner by ripping Girder in two. Hey, she gave him a fair warning.

A female coworker of mine broke up with her boyfriend a few weeks/months before I wrote this chapter, and she listened to Ben Folds Five's "Song for the Dumped" on repeat for ages. It really _is_ the ultimate break-up song.

**"for all intensive purposes" **I may be revealing my own ignorance here, but it wasn't until much later I realized that the expression is "for all _intents_ and purposes. Ugh.

**CHAPTER 11:**** FIRST LOVE, OLD FLAMES, AND FANGIRL CRUSHES!:**

Prior to the forming of the Teen Titans, side-kicks weren't very prevalent in this universe. There were only three: Speedy, Wonder Girl, and Tempest (Garth/Aqualad, who, despite not appearing in this story, _does_ exist in this universe.) It wasn't until after the forming of the Titans that more teenaged heroes started to enter the scene (Batgirl, Tim Drake, Titans East). If I ever get around to writing a sequel to this story, the Titans inspiring the next generation of heroes will be a major element.

I hadn't thought of Bart being the only member of Titans East who still had a secret identity when I first put him on the team—which necessitated the scene with Wally where he reminds him not to reveal it. Still, I think it works. Impulse is just the kind of flake to join a public, no-secrets superhero team and somehow still keep his identity secret.

"**Tomato tomahtoh," dismissed Impulse." **This is an expression that is probably better off only used out loud and not on the printed page. I hope people got it.

"_**Or is it just cause we're all black he thinks I like her?" **_The whole storyline with Vic, Mal and Karen was based off this line here. Cause sometimes it seems people are only paired up because of race, but I wanted to subvert that with Vic and Karen—but even Mal falls prey to this trope.

I don't think I ever got around to mentioning it, but the Brotherhood of Evil is the only enemy the Titans take down that wasn't, in some way, caused or hired by Jupiter and Raven.

"**Never had a single lesson!" **Hm, Bette and Ferris Bueller have this in common.

"**Free for all: MELEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" **Looking at my old author's notes reminded me how obsessed I was with Super Smash Brothers when I wrote this chapter. This line also reminds me of that.

"**Eh, the credit goes to Jupiter on that one," Vic said, wondering only for a second where in the world he got the **_**money**_** for it all." **There's a few times in the story where Cyborg starts to put together the pieces of what Jupiter's up to, which is lead up to where he _does_ figure it out in Chapter 22. Vic feels some guilt for not figuring it out sooner, but honestly, even if he _had_, he was up against a telepath and an empath. He would have been brainwashed and taken out rather quickly had he attempted a coup.

Impulse was a character I threw onto Titans East, not because of a deep storyline between him and one of the main Titans, but simply because he's one of my favorite characters. So while the Titans paired up in this chapter, I was slightly at a loss with what to do with him—and _that's_ when it struck me to use him to link the various scenes together. The kid's not gonna sit still in one place anyway.

I don't think I'm a great romance writer, but this scene with Gar and Tara kind of took me by surprise. I'm very happy with how it turned out, and with how the romance between the two turned out in general. I had actually forgotten how much these two had in common. Despite how unexplored Gar's homeless backstory was, it was worth it just for this one scene with Gar and Tara.

"**Y'know, the thing where you talk to the camera and tell it what you're thinkin'. Jupiter's always saying to make sure y'hit it before leaving for a mission, cause…well, you never know if you'll make it back." **I was hoping to trick some readers into thinking someone would die this storyline (I'm a real bastard like that), but this line _was_ slightly foreshadowing the bookend scene to this in Chapter 22, as well as Tara's future death (although, at this point in the story, I wasn't sure if I'd go through with killing Terra or not.)

"**Wi," nodded Warp," **I have just been informed that the correct word for this is "Oui." I should have known that. I _thought_ I Googled this back when I wrote this chapter, but if I did, man it was a half-assed job.

In the comics, pretty much every member of the Brotherhood speaks with a thick accent, displayed on page with unique speech patterns. I always found that a little corny, so, for the most part, I just wrote the Brotherhood normally. I still think they all speak with thick accents, however.

Plasmus being a racist Neo-Nazi was inspired by a line in the New Teen Titans where Plasmus, referring to Cyborg, said he wanted to take down "the black one." I don't think this was necessarily intended to be racist, at least not as racist as _I _made him—Cyborg had just defeated Plasmus and he wanted revenge—but it seemed like an interesting angle to take him, especially since I had already touched on race slightly with Vic and Mal.

Goldilocks—the only member of the Brotherhood that was not a part of The New Teen Titans—was taken from Geoff Johns' run on the Teen Titans. I believe that's the only time she's appeared, but I really liked the character a lot.

"**Continued the Brain, unconcerned with his minion's opinion on Robin's looks—though, incidentally, he agreed." **This is also inspired by a line in the same Geoff Johns' Titans story, where Goldilocks, choking Tim Drake with her hair, says, "The Brain was right—you _are_ cute!"

**CHAPTER 12: THE TEEN TITANS AND TITANS EAST VS. THE BROTHERHOOD OF EVIL!:**

I think this may be my least favorite chapter of the series. It's not that it's bad. There's a lot I like: Raven and Warp, Cyborg and Plasmus, Starfire and Mallah, Speed and Fran; but there's a lot that bugs me too. The Wonder Girl/Arsenal stuff is too convoluted. And, for the most part, it's just straight up fighting, from beginning to end. And it's disjointed. I would spend a little more time on this if I could.

"**Get your damn hands off him!" **I will never apologize for quoting _Back to the Future_.

"**The Brotherhood demolished an entire country in a nuclear explosion, Warp." **If I'm remembering this correctly, this factoid was based off that time in the comics where the Brotherhood helped nuke Bludhaven.

Warp is one of the more interesting Brotherhood members to me. On one hand, he could be considered one of the few redeemable members of the group: He certainly still has morals, unlike Phobia or Houngan, and he's not the racist bastard Plasmus is. But at the same time, unlike Goldilocks or Rouge, he's still sane and willing to kill simply to make money. It's debatable who's worse here, but Raven certainly found Warp's clear-headed killing to be the worst the Brotherhood had to offer.

"**After all, why judge you when judgment has already been passed against all **_**mankind**_**?" **See guys, I _tried_ to clue you in to Raven's plan long before I actually revealed it! Then again, this is kind of a red herring anyway; most readers probably thought of Trigon judging humanity, when really, it was _Raven_ who had judged and condemned mankind.

A super-strong gorilla is certainly a threat—just look at some of the damage _Grodd_ causes—but I still thought that Mallah needed a little leg up in order to be on an equal playing field with the Titans, especially Starfire. That's where the idea of his force field came from.

"_**When on Rann, do as the Rannians do?" **_My favorite line of the chapter. Also, for those not in the know, Rann is the planet where Adam Strange, a DC Hero, resides.

"**Control over magnetism is far too common an ability, girl," said the Brain. "And it is also far too easy to prepare for—my body is made of all plastic components." **As I said, I like when characters prepare for opponents they know they'll have to face again. In my head, I imagine that The Brain was once almost defeated by Dr. Polaris, DC's premiere magnetic villain, and that's what prompted his changeover to all plastic casing.

**CHAPTER 13: SHATTERED PERCEPTIONS:**

"**Robin is just right for me! He'll fill the big chair, and together we'll fit the big bed!" **Good lord, where did I ever come up with sick, twisted stuff like this? I really like Goldilocks.

"**As he launched one of the makeshift escrima sticks forward." **The staff I gave Robin is actually Tim Drake's main weapon—escrima sticks are Dick Grayson's (though this was established long after the New Teen Titans), so I tried to fit them in whenever I could.

"**And as he landed and rolled into a tumble he grabbed an aerosol can of PAM butter spray from the stove and tossed it to Flamebird." **I still haven't received my product placement money for this.

**In her hand she had a cigarette held in a long black stick. **Way to ape Cruella DeVille there, Rouge. I wish I knew what these things were called, but regardless, every sophisticated European supervillainess needs one!

I'm not sure how much of Madame Rouge's story about Caulder and the Doom Patrol I believe. I mean, Caulder's part in the Brain's origin and his part in turning the Doom Patrol into freaks are all true, but the part about how Caulder brainwashed Rouge into loving him seems a little biased. I personally think that Caulder did cause the accident that gave Rouge her powers in an attempt to get close to her, but I'm not so sure he brainwashed her. After all, the Brain _also_ brainwashed Rouge, and it would be very in character for him to plant damning information about Caulder into Rouge's brain, _especially_ if she legitimately cared about the man.

"**I can't control lava like my brother." **Tara's brother is Brion Markov, a hero known as Geo Force who, in the original comics, was a member of Batman's personal superhero team, the Outsiders.

The moral of this story? Do _not_ piss off Beast Boy!

Here we see the first signs of Tara's death-wish. Admittedly, Tara didn't actually try to _die_ this time, but the fact is that she goes out of her way to put herself in harm's way in order to make up for her past mistakes and regrets. It's no _wonder_ it eventually turned tragic.

Indeed, "tragedy" is the key word to _any_ Terra story, I think. I didn't want to just rehash "The Judas Contract" again. Without the element of surprise, Terra being a psychopathic mole loses all effect, and the Animated Series already perfected the "conflicted traitor" version of the story. But my way of honoring "The Judas Contract" was to make sure that Terra's story was tragic. The poor girl just can't catch a break in life.

The song Gar is listening to at the end of the chapter is "Still Fighting It" by Ben Folds, and it's beautiful and amazing and you all need to listen to it. Definitely one of my favorites. Like I said, I wrote an entire subplot about Gar's favorite band _just_ to include those lyrics in that scene. Totally worth it.

Omen's first appearance! Omen was meant to be Lilith from the very start, and anybody familiar with Titans comics no doubt guessed that. One of my reviewers guessed it right away, so I sent him on a wild goose chase, and for a while had him convinced that Omen was Arella, Raven's mother. No hard feelings man, I just wanted to try to keep things a surprise!

**CHAPTER 14: MOBBED!:**

The Brother Blood storyline (Chapters 14-16) was actually the last storyline I came up with. Originally, there wasn't going to be a Brother Blood appearance in the story. Mr. Jupiter was going to actually have been Brother Blood all along (more about this in his character bio), shortening Blood's role to a footnote. Instead, I was going to go a more "reality show" route and have a "Real World/Road Rules Challenge" inspired arc pitting the Titans against Titans East in a series of physical challenges. I ended up scrapping this for several reasons: 1. It didn't progress the story or the characters' arcs any; 2. The timing wasn't right. Bringing back the Titans East immediately after their first storyline wouldn't work, and placing this between the Donna and Trigon storylines would kill the dramatic flow of those last storylines. But going straight from the Brotherhood to the Donna/Deathstroke story was moving too fast, so I instead came up with a Brother Blood storyline to fill the gap. I'm really glad I did. The story wouldn't work without this arc for a lot of reasons.

"**By now the Teen Titans had been operating out of San Francisco for a month." **Wow, I totally forgot that this was in there. As vague as the timeline for this story is, I'm glad that I mentioned _in story_ that time was passing in between storylines. Cause that was often my intention, but I ended up writing the story like everything was happening one right after another.

"**Grunting, Dick crossed his arms and asked, "And why's your boss so interested in me?" "He has his reasons," alluded the young boy." **Here Tim was alluding to the fact that Batman nearly adopted Dick as a child, and therefore has a soft spot for him. Originally, in Chapter 21, Dick was supposed to pass his detective's test by uncovering Batman's secret identity—this eventually got dropped out of the story when the Dick/Tim relationship turned more into contrasting their darkness and light; addressing Bruce Wayne would have been shoehorned in at that point, and that chapter was long enough as it is.

I don't remember anymore why I had Dick find out about Donna and Terry Long. It ended up being a way for Dick to know about Terry despite being out of town when he was murdered, but originally I _know_ I had some other reason that never came to fruition. It's just been so long ago it's slipped my mind.

Jimenez Park is named after Phil Jimenez, a huge Teen Titans fan and comic book artist whom, among other accomplishments, co-wrote and illustrated "JLA/Titans: The Technis Imperative" and wrote and illustrated a run on "Wonder Woman" where Donna Troy held a prominent role.

"**Turns out he didn't even let Gar go to school, so he can barely read much more'n like, his cell phone or something!" **I added that in about the cell phone because of that mix-up in Chapter 1 where Gar had a cell phone despite it being out of character for him to have one.

"_**Beast Boy: "Man I wish Vic hadn't gotten to her first! She's awesome!" **_While he'd never act on it—and she'd never reciprocate—I think Gar's definitely got a bit of a tiny crush on Sarah Simms.

"**DEVIN'S DEPARTMENT STORE" **The department store, meanwhile, is named after Devin Grayson, cowriter of "JLA/Titans: The Technis Imperative" and writer of "Titans" and "Nightwing."

A bit more surprisingly, I think _Raven_ also has a slight crush on _Starfire_. Her interactions with Kory are probably the only times where Raven's acting almost entirely genuinely.

"**This is Linda Park reporting for Channel 4 news," announced the anchor, a beautiful Asian woman who looked to be in her early twenties." **This is, of course, a shout out to the woman Wally would eventually marry in the comics. That said, I kind of regret putting her in here, because if I ever wanted to put her and Wally together in the future, she's already a little old for him. Oh well.

"**We now go live to Ollie Williams." **This is a shout out to, of all things, Family Guy, and their "Black-u-weather" forecaster Ollie Williams. You know, once upon a time that show was actually funny, and once upon a time I was actually not ashamed to have liked the show. Now neither of those things are true.

This storyline gets a little meta, with seeing the audiences'/citizens' reactions to the Titans' presence in the city and with Sebastian's psychology lessons. I had a lot of fun with this. This storyline was really the last big chance I had to really play up the reality show aspects (as the last two storylines go superhero big time), and I enjoyed it a lot.

**CHAPTER 15: UNDERCOVER BROTHER:**

This title has a lot going on, none of it serious. First, it's a movie reference; it also refers to Cyborg, who's going undercover and who's a "brother"; finally it also refers to Brother Blood, who's also hiding undercover.

The story Raven tells of the origin of the Cowl of Blood is obviously untrue, and the real origin is revealed in Chapter 24. Writing for Raven was fun because I got to tell a lot of lies and inconstancies. As a reader, you should have never have been sure of the accuracy of _anything _Raven ever said.

I have to say, this opening sequence with the Titans trying to locate Blood is one of my favorite scenes in the entire series. Every character has a significant part in it, the supporting characters are incorporated well into the going-ons, it's funny and it moves the story forward. I wish I could always be this on the ball.

"_**Wonder Girl: "Yeah, not a big fan of the public displays of affection either." **_This from the girl who just gave Terry a surprise-kiss in the middle of an outdoor café.

If you can't figure out the reference in "DCU University", well…I'll tell you anyway, cause I'm a nice guy (DCU=DC Universe, aka DC Comics.)

"**What if this, what if our whole **_**relationship**_** is all manipulated by Blood, just a part of his stupid plan?!" **This idea is something I threw in at the last second. It was just a realization that I—much like Vic—had pop into my head suddenly as I worked on Blood's plan. And I didn't want anybody else thinking the same thing and worrying about Sarah for the rest of the story when they didn't need to.

"**He wore an outdated checkered gray suit with brown pads on the elbows." **As far as I'm concerned, those pads are the epitome of uncool.

I always liked the idea of Brother Blood being Cyborg's arch-enemy, but I don't think the Animated Series did a great job setting the two up. I really like the dynamic between Blood and Cyborg in my story—Blood is jealous of Vic's great life, thinking that someone as seemingly "perfect" as Vic is obviously hiding some fatal flaw. Meanwhile, Blood _does_ bring out some of Vic's flaws—his stubbornness, his tendency to needlessly place himself in danger to protect others. I had fun with this storyline, which I'm glad, considering it was the last storyline I came up with.

"_**I knew that, when faced with the choice between my happiness and the fate of the world, I should choose the world." **_Wally was always a reminder of who Vic used to be before he came to terms with his accident, who he could become if he gave into his anger and guilt. Never is this more clear than in this storyline, which is why Vic eventually decides to help Wally despite all the times Wally's tried to convince him not to. This line, echoed twice in this chapter, is basically the theme of the storyline and is where the title of chapter 16 ("Desire vs. Duty") comes from.

"**G—dammit, there goes my plan to create a line of invisible lingerie!" "But if they were invisible," asked Koriand'r, "Then what would be the point of even wearing them at all?" **Kory's already displayed her lack of understanding of foreplay and lingerie, but for once, she's got a point!

Raven contradicts herself several times over the course of the series about the limits of her Soul Self—in this case, using it to teleport the Titans where in other cases she said she could not do this. This was all on purpose—Raven's a liar and a manipulator, and I think she almost took pleasure in seeing how much she could change her story without rousing suspicions.

**CHAPTER 16: DESIRE VS. DUTY:**

The Puppet King, Adonis, Mumbo Jumbo and Control Freak are all enemies taken from the Animated Series. While they couldn't carry an entire arc, it was fun using Blood's army as an excuse to throw in some fun reimagined AS villains to take on the Titans.

In the comics, there was never much follow-up to Beast Boy killing Madame Rouge. So, despite it being a small plot-point overall, I really wanted to make sure that I addressed Gar's guilt and had him grow because of it.

"_**Like the Sydney Funnel Web Spider, ever heard of it?" **_The Sydney Funnel Web Spider was a prominent animal form used in Geoff Johns' Teen Titans run. It's also foreshadowing to Gar actually using the form against Jericho.

Mumbo Jumbo unsuccessfully turning Beast Boy into a series of animals only for him to immediately turn back is a gag also taken from the Animated Series, though there it didn't end up quite as well, with Gar instead being turned into a lamp.

I absolutely loved writing Blood. I made him as corny as possible, and coming up with his terrible similes and metaphors was a ton of fun.

Donna is really coming across as strong, competent, and moral in this chapter. I'm really glad with how her character has progressed, and rereading the story, I think this is the point where she really starts to come into her own.

"_**Wonder Girl: "Despite everything he did, Wally turned around and talked back to Blood! I don't know his motivation, and truthfully, I don't think I want to. I just know he still deserves to be stood up for!" **_Wow, I think I gave myself chills.

Throughout my story I've been playing Cyborg like a swiss-army knife, fighting with computer skills and a wide-array of weapons. I did this because I always felt like he was kind of neglected in the comics and TV show, almost always fighting with his strength despite being a lot weaker than Starfire or Wonder Girl. So, once Vic had depowered Blood, I specifically had Vic take him down with a fierce physical beat-down. It was one of the few chances I had to take advantage of his great strength. And it was hella cathartic.

"**Sorry I'm late," meekly chuckled the speedster, the fastest man alive, the Flash! "Bad habit of mine." **That's a bit of an understatement. "Is always late" is one of Barry Allen's most well known character traits!

**CHAPTER 17: POV: DEATHSTROKE:**

Writing this chapter wasn't even in my original plans for the story. Originally I had wanted the story of Deathstroke breaking out of prison broken into small snippets, one part appearing after each storyline. But I ended up not doing this because I didn't want to delay the cliffhanger that much (Imagine me putting part of the Deathstroke jailbreak after Chapter 9, but then delaying the actual Slade confrontation until Chapter 19. Yeah, not cool.) But when it came time to write out this storyline, I didn't think it worked without the jailbreak and the introduction to Slade's family. So that's where this chapter came to life, and I'm really glad I decided to put it in, because it's one of my favorite parts of the story and was one of the most fun chapters to write. It was also nice to get to write an extended sequence in first person. I _love_ first person.

"**While he was at work I would take his guns and hunt animals in the woods behind our house." **They say hurting animals is one of the first signs of a future serial killer…

"**One day a neighbor boy—Henry Haskall." **I'm _horrible_ at coming up with names. The only way I can forgive myself for this one is the fact that this is taking place in the 60s, and that's a very 60s kind of kid name.

"**And the ability to use 90% of his brain." **So apparently the idea that we only use 10% of our total brainpower is a complete myth. I do know this. I'm just taking Slade's ability from the comics. Blame Marv Wolfman!

I feel bad, using Jericho and Ravager solely as villains in this story. I like both characters a lot, though Jericho's hard to write without the ability to speak. I'd like to do more with them at some point, but that's why I went out of my way to make sure that all their villainous activities were due to mind control. Both have a long road to recovery, which is a shame. Being the kids of Deathstroke will mess a person up.

**CHAPTER 18: TANGLED WEB:**

Unlike the other storylines in this story, Chapters 17-21 are not based on any one storyline from the comics. The storyline with Donna and Terry does bear striking similarities to "The New Teen Titans #16", a story where Starfire's new boyfriend, Franklin Crandall, is revealed to be a spy sent by the HIVE, but who falls in love with Kory and refuses to betray her, and is murdered for his efforts. Do you want to know the funny thing? I wrote the story about Donna and Terry _before I even read TNTT #16. _The huge similarities between the two stories are _a complete coincidence!_ I still can't get over it.

"_**The first man I ever met was Superman." **_This is a bit of a retcon, as in an earlier chapter Donna says that _Kyle_ was the first guy she ever met. That's why a second later I threw in the "but Kyle was the first guy I ever really _knew_." Really, though, Superman should be the first person _everyone_ meets. The world might be a better place.

"**Why the long face, Mr. Long?" **Jupiter loves corny puns.

I like revealing twists as big cliffhangers, I really do. But sometimes, it's just as fun—and perhaps even more effective—to have a very nonchalant, casual reveal. The revelation that Terry Long was working for Jupiter was just that. No big cliffhanger, no exclamation points or build up, he just came right out and said it like it was something we were supposed to know already. I personally love it that way. I hope I made a few people do double-takes.

"**I mean, I know everybody says reality TV's scripted, but this is **_**ridiculous**_**!" **The theme of this story in a nutshell. Probably my favorite line of the chapter as well.

I'm surprised Jericho didn't realize Lilith was a telepath when he possessed her.

"**Blood leaked from the wound as Jupiter clamped down tight on his shoulder—still, he wasn't done. It was time to pour on the…**_**charm." **_This is one situation where Jupiter flat-out used his telepathy to save his butt. The only reason Deathstroke let Jupiter live, the only reason he took his suggestion to take the Titans' loved ones captive, is because Jupiter planted a telepathic suggestion in Deathstroke's head. I hope I hinted at it enough in this chapter that people realized something was up and, that when Jupiter's power was revealed, they could look back and put the pieces together.

"**What do you think we are, dense, retarded?" scoffed Rose." **_All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder _is laughably bad, but it spawned this great catchphrase, and for that it will always have a special place in my heart.

"**Still, as Iris rounded the corner into the living room, she never expected the figure she was met by. As the house lit up, she could only scream one word: "You?!" **Okay, the figure here that Iris meets is obviously Dr. Light, who kidnaps her for Deathstroke. Originally, the "You?!" was because Iris recognized Dr. Light, and ever since the incident with Sue Dibny, had been half-_expecting_ him to show up for her. But now I don't like that stupid rape storyline, and I've decided that it hasn't happened in this universe. But that doesn't mean she wouldn't recognize a supervillain! She's a reporter and most of her family are super-heroes—it's her _job_ to be informed!

I know some of my fans can't stand Matt Logan, and I understand, but I just love the little guy. I mean, I wouldn't want to be around him in person, but he's just so much fun to write, you know? Gar's the only person in the world who likes him and it just doesn't faze Matt in the slightest, and it never fails to crack me up.

I never _have_ quite figured out how Tim got Donna's diary.

The scene with Raven in Azarath was a last minute addition. Originally Raven wasn't going to appear in this chapter, but I didn't like that, because (with the exception of the Deathstroke POV) up until this point, every Titan had appeared in every chapter. It wasn't fair to leave her out. Then I came up with the idea to reveal the fate of Azarath, and I'm really glad I did. It's a far more important scene than Gar and Animal Man (which was fun, but filler), and it helps move Raven's story along some more until the big reveal.

*****ON THE AIR—THE STREETS OF SAN FRANSISCO*** **Here's a shout out to an old TV show, one I never even watched, but am vaguely aware of due to my parents' intensely retro taste in television.

**CHAPTER 19: HOSTAGE SITUATION!:**

The opening scene with Tim and Dick in the Batwing was just a little bit of pointless fun to give Robin an appearance in the chapter and to remind the readers of just where Dick is. It's also a bit of an homage to the times Bart drove the Batmobile/Batwing in Geoff Johns' Teen Titans series.

"**Deathstroke's son pulled the hostage's shoes off, then his socks, and proceeded to stuff the socks in the young Mr. Logan's mouth." **I think almost everybody who's met Matt has wanted to do this to him at one point or another. Also, this shouldn't have worked, cause Matt wears sandals. Oh well.

"**Lemme guess: this is for Beast Boy?" Ravager pointed to a cattle prod and snickered." **Oh Slade—if you'd been watching the show, you would have _known_ not to underestimate Beast Boy. He's a _huge_ part of why this plan fell to pieces.

In the comics, Jericho can't talk while possessing someone's body—which never really made sense to me, and was always just a reason for Marv and George to never develop a voice for Jericho. I kinda needed Jericho to talk, so I had no problem allowing him to talk while possessing people—he's still mute in his own body, after all.

"**Daddy!" she cried as she brushed her stark white hair from her eyes. "Where's the weapon for **_**her?!**_**" **I think you all figured it out, but just in case anybody didn't, the weapon for Starfire was Dr. Light, who completely neutralizes her Starbolts.

"**So," asked Gar, "Since you're a guy but you're in Donna's body, does that make you a 'he', or a 'she'?" **Besides being something Gar would ask anyway, I threw this in because it was something I was asking _myself_ as I wrote the chapter, unsure of what pronouns to use for Joe when he was possessing Donna. I'm still not sure the answer to this, to be honest.

"**Yield," commanded Wonder Girl as Jericho reverted his host's body to human form and crawled onto his knees. " ** Bad_ass_.

Cyborg's Solar Armor—foreshadowed in Chapter 3, revealed in Chapter 19. Impressive, no?

"_**Plus he can't be knocked unconscious since he's bein' used like a puppet, and I **_**won't**_** kill him!" **_There's a fight in _YuYu Hakusho_ where Yusuke fights a Doctor who feels no pain, making it impossible for Yusuke to knock him unconscious. The only way to defeat him was to kill him, which Yusuke refused to do. I forget how he won that battle, but Cyborg is facing a similar situation here with Dr. Light—and yes, it was inspired by Yusuke's battle. Fortunately, Vic's a smart guy and found a way around it.

It's funny, but it wasn't obvious at first that this was Donna's storyline. I mean, her and Terry became more prominent starting in Chapter 18, but there wasn't any sign that this was _Donna's storyline_ until Terry's head went flying across the room. I, personally, think this adds to the shock of the moment. Deathstroke wasn't even Donna's archenemy—he was _Robin's_. If there was _any_ way this could have been crueler towards Donna, I don't know what it is.

Killing Terry was the plan from the moment I introduced him to the story. It brought a lot of frustration from a lot of different characters to head, and was the moment the story's tone really changed. It was also fun playing with stereotypes a little bit. Terry's a bit of a play-up in gender mechanics—usually it's the female love interest who's killed to further the male hero's storyline, and here I reversed that.

Like I said, underestimating Beast Boy caused a lot of damage—he beat Jericho and freed Speed because he wasn't taken down immediately—but the moment Slade's plan _truly_ fell to pieces was that moment where he decapitated Terry. The thing is, I had always planned for Slade to do this, but never really figured out _why_, and when I wrote the chapter, I realized it made no sense. A hostage is only valuable alive, and killing Terry gave Donna the opening she needed to beat Deathstroke. That's when I remembered Slade's backstory and how the love between Donna and Terry would piss him right the hell off. It's a great moment, I think, and so much better then him just killing Terry for strategy or to be badass. Slade thinks being compassionless frees him of emotional weakness, but here it was his cynicism that proved his fatal flaw, and as depressing as this storyline is, I like that slightly optimistic message.

"**Jericho was punched by a gorilla, kicked by a kangaroo, pinched by a crab, pecked by a bald eagle, slashed by a tiger, and, just for good measure, humped by a Labrador retriever." **Oh Gar.

Originally, Donna was going to ask Speed not to finish off Deathstroke, just like she did in the final chapter. But instead of asking her Gods for power, she was going to ask Wally to lend her speed. Eventually I decided not to go this route, because I felt like it cheapened Donna as a character. This is _her_ arc, and she shouldn't need Speed's help to take down her archenemy, she _needed_ to do it on her own.

"**But Donna knew she was wrong. "No," she sobbed, "It won't...he's dead. Terry's dead, and nothing will ever be okay again..." **Originally I thought I might end this chapter with the arrival of Arsenal, using it as a cliffhanger. But, as soon as I wrote this line, I knew this was _it. _This was the ending of the chapter, and nothing was changing that. So I moved Roy's arrival to the beginning of the next chapter—he wasn't needed yet in this one. This chapter didn't need to end on a cliffhanger—it needed to end on a downnote.

**CHAPTER 20: THE GRIEVING PROCESS:**

**"So, does this mean I'm gonna constantly get kidnapped as long as I'm dating you?" **Yes, Sarah. Yes it does.

"**Springing into action, Arsenal let loose an arrow. As it drew close to Wintergreen a net exploded from the projectile's head, ensnaring Slade's right-hand man within its tangled ropes. "You're under arrest!" **I love this moment. There's a real dynamic sense of movement to it. That might just be me though.

"**As composed as ever, Slade simply replied by saying, "My dear, don't make promises you cannot keep." **Line of the chapter.

I was wondering why Sarah was being so hostile to Roy—not that he didn't deserve some/most of it—and realized that Roy probably reminds Sarah of the kind of guys she used to date, arrogant bad-boys. As many times as she's been burned by guys in the past, it would definitely instigate conflict.

_**Cyborg: "Wait a second, how did she know what happened? She wasn't there!" **_And once again, good ol' Vic's the only one who notices the inconsistencies in Raven's stories.

I've had a lot of people comment on the Roy and Donna hook-up and who was responsible or who was taking advantage of who. Obviously situations like this are complicated and can be problematic, so this is only my opinion, and as always, you're free to read it any way you like, but I always imagined a little bit of fault laid on both of their shoulders. Donna was emotionally traumatized, but she still knew she was sleeping with a guy who had feelings for her just to make herself feel better. And considering Donna gave him consent, in fact _initiated _it, I don't think Roy sleeping with her would be a crime or anything, but he still knew she was in an emotionally compromising situation and that sleeping with her would only make things more complicated. But Donna wanted to feel relief, Roy wanted Donna and took advantage of the only chance he'd ever have, and both screwed up big time. That's why I made sure that both characters apologized to each other at the end of the story, cause either could have stopped it, but didn't.

On that note, I _don't_ consider Donna and Kyle's break-up a punishment for her sleeping with Roy—or cheating with Terry, for that matter, even if Donna _does_ think so. It was something that would have happened sooner or later no matter what, and despite the pain it caused, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing for Donna in the long run.

"**From behind the door, however, the boy heard nothing. Then, a few moments later, what sounded like a cry came from within the room. Then, a louder one. **_**'She must be in trouble!'**_** thought the Lantern frantically as his ring created a giant crowbar." **_So awkward._

"**But Roy was just a rebound, he means nothing to me!" From his spot on the floor where he'd managed to pull on his boxer-briefs and muscle shirt, Roy Harper chuckled. "Man, if I had a dollar for every time I heard that…" **Okay, this chapter has _two_ lines of the chapter, I can't decide which one I love more.

_**Beast Boy: "Wait a second—Wally loves **_**Raven**_**?! Double ew!" **_It's interesting sometimes to realize that facts we've known for the entire story are still brand new information to the characters themselves.

**CHAPTER 21: WHO I AM:**

I love this opening fight scene. I tried to make a real contrast between the two Robins' fighting styles: Dick's an acrobat, he barely touches the ground when he fights, leaping back and forth from one enemy to the next with bombastic energy. Tim, meanwhile, is slow and meticulous, lashing out with precision strikes, using his small size as an advantage. I actually had a lot of fun figuring out ways for Tim to fight.

Let me get this out of the way—I have no _idea_ how to write a mystery, and I have no idea how nobody found Donna's parents before Dick and Tim did. I have to think that they didn't look very hard. I think Donna must have only tried herself, cause if she had enlisted the League, Batman could have figured this out within minutes I bet.

This isn't necessarily something I had in mind when I wrote this story, but both the task of retrieving Wally's body and finding Donna's parents makes me notice that, when I finally set out to do something in my stories, they tend to get accomplished rather quickly. None of it was actually hard to pull off, mitigating circumstances just kept getting in the way of actually getting any of it done all this time.

I believe I've already mentioned it once, but Dick and Tim's rooftop discussion was originally supposed to climax with Dick discovering Batman's secret identity. However, as Dick's storyline changed, so did the needs of the chapter, and I instead used this discussion to explore a different side of Dick Grayson.

"**The younger Robin's eyes nearly bulged out of his head—he'd never heard about this! "Wait, **_**Batman**_** was there?!" **Tim knew a lot in this story, but I think even he didn't know how close Dick came to being the Batman's first sidekick.

"**from kids stuff like Nate the Great." **I don't know if these books are well known or not, but they were my favorite books growing up. Nate the Great was a kid detective who lived in a neighborhood filled with weirdos and solved their problems. He always solved a mystery while making a batch of pancakes. Pancakes were/are my favorite food, so I really connected with Nate as a six year old, heh.

This is a barely related tangent, but I imagine Tim Drake (both in my continuity and in the regular comics canon, it doesn't really matter) maintains a Tumblr devoted to the BBC Sherlock series.

"**But I was still tracking Batman's cases, and what I started to see kinda scared me. He was getting more brutal with his victims, and apparently more reckless too, since more and more reports of his injuries came in." **So in the comics, Batman became more brutal and reckless because he was in mourning after the death of Jason Todd. In my universe, obviously, Jason Todd hasn't become Robin (and he probably never will. I imagine he grows up to be a priest, like in the Flashpoint universe), so what was up with Bruce? Bruce had just rescued Cassandra Cain and made her Batgirl, and he was pissed because he found out the torturous training Cassandra's father put her through in order to make her an assassin. He found out that he made Cass _kill._ And Bruce had a bit of a mini breakdown.

I also know nothing of gangs and gangsters. I hope these Italian named gangsters and the vague gang themes didn't offend anyone, heh. I've got to make sure not to include gangs in my next story, I keep putting them in then awkwardly creeping around the details.

Obviously, Wally still had his powers when he got his body back, despite his claims to the contrary. At one point Wally speculates that he couldn't use his powers cause he didn't _want_ to, and I agree. It was all psychosomatic.

While Dick was definitely out of line in this chapter and needed a bit of a reality check, I do think Tim overreacted a bit. That's why, in the final chapter, I had a mutual apology between the two of them. That is a nice thing about writing teen characters, though—they overreact and make mistakes and it's great.

Originally, Dick and Kory's confrontation was going to be about Dick's lingering crush on Donna, but I never found a way to make that work. He had moved past that point as a character, and Kory's new reason for breaking up with Dick made more sense and was much more effective at furthering Dick's story.

This cliffhanger was the point of no return. Up until then, I still wasn't sure if I was going to kill off Terra. But I brought her back, and now I _had_ to. I'll talk more about this when the time comes (and in her bio).

**CHAPTER 22: INSPIRATIONS:**

Welcome to the final storyline! Much of this storyline, obviously, is inspired by "The Terror of Trigon" ("Tales of the Teen Titans" #60-64) as well as the Trigon storyline on the animated series ("The End" Parts 1-3). While I've changed much of the story to fit my universe, surprisingly, this is still the straightest adaptation of any comic book storyline that I did in this story.

"_**But what a first episode I'm having! It felt so good to tell her off like that! People with perfect lives like her don't understand the s- people like Gar and I've gone through—though, maybe now with all this Deathstroke stuff, maybe she'll actually get it!" **_After I finished the chapter, I had to go back and add the second half of this, the part about Donna finally getting it after the Deathstroke incident. I finished the chapter at first without that part of the line, and then realized that Terra's line was harsher than I wanted it to be, considering that Donna had just gone through the day from Hell and was about to go through another.

"_**Raven: "Let me clarify: I do not approve of lying and secrets." **_Yeah, there were points where I was just _going out of my way_ to make Raven a hypocrite. She was in on the joke.

I just realized Robin doesn't have a single line throughout this entire opening sequence. That's odd.

Wally's high school is named after Carmine Infantino, a comic book artist and co-creator of Barry Allen and Wally West.

"_**Cyborg: "A compliment with just a hint of condescension?! Now **_**that's**_** our Donna!" **_I love just how on-the-nose Vic is with this statement.

This scene with Jupiter in his office cracks me up. He's so over the top. He _knows_ today is the day that he's going to reveal his end-game, but he's sitting in his office smugly _waiting for an alarm clock to go off _before he sets things in action. He's such a gleeful dick.

"**Raising an eyebrow, the Amazon warrior could only reply with a confused, "Milkshakes? For **_**breakfast**_**?!" **Reeses? For _breakfast?!_

I really love this scene with Robin and Superman; it was the scene I was looking forward to writing the most for quite a long time before I actually got to writing it. All throughout the story Dick was looking for a way to be a hero, and for a while he tried to emulate Batman, but truthfully, it was emulating _Superman_ that helped Dick find his place on the team and in the world. I like this development for him. In the comics, Superman was always just as big of an inspiration on Dick Grayson as Batman was. Dick's his biggest fanboy.

I think I'm hitting this "inspiration" theme a little on the head this chapter, but then again, I like having all the parts of this chapter revolve around one theme. It feels high-class.

I was surprised by how short the Tara/Beast Boy segment ended up being, especially since, alongside the Robin segment, it was supposed to be the centerpiece of the chapter. I guess, in the end, there wasn't as much to say in it as I thought there would be. Tara and Gar picked up where they left off pretty easily. A reader praised me for moving their relationship on at such a good pace, and I'm just thinking '_What kind of sadistic writer would drag this out any longer? There's no point to it!'_

"**You needed them a lot more than just me Gar."** Ugh, don't do it Tara!

**CHAPTER 23: BEGIN ENDGAME!:**

"**So you got your body back?! I'm so happy for you!" "I can't wait to spoil this on the forums!" **Don't lie, you know this guy. We all know this guy.

"**Class! You'll have plenty of time left to learn about your new classmate, but I only have forty-five minutes to teach you about carbon dating! Simmer down!" **I remember I spent a long time deciding what lesson the teacher was going to be giving—also, I went out of my way not to specify the teacher's gender, just because I felt like it. Anyway, carbon dating was one of the first things I could think of that wasn't an English lesson (overdone.). I forget most of school.

I had to do some research to find out whether Alcatraz was a tourist destination now or still a prison. I chose Alcatraz for the Jupiter confrontation for a number of reasons. 1: The fact that it's right in the Titans' backyard makes the Fearsome Five look like losers. 2: Jupiter knows it would be a flashy place to hold a battle (and that it would catch the Titans' attention before anyone else's.). 3: Because, in my opinion, it _was_ a fun place to hold a battle, and another plus, it _wasn't_ a cave, which tends to be my default for big battles, which is something I need to change.

**"You've had all day to hang out." Gar raised an eyebrow. "Really?! It doesn't seem like it." **This is a bit of a joke on my twisted timeline. "Inspirations", the way I present it, seems like it takes place over a span of maybe ten to fifteen minutes at the most, especially the Gar and Tara segment. I wanted to make sure, through both this sentence and the way time progresses at Wally's school, that the team at least had a few hours together before the Jupiter attack.

Eagle-eyed readers probably noticed that Raven and Terra stop using the confessional starting with this chapter. This is because they die and never get a chance to go back to the Tower and record them. It's a bit of a spoiler, but nobody seemed to notice it (or if they did, they didn't speak up.) I talk a bit more about the necessity of this above in the "Confessional" section of the commentary.

**"Dick, I would never let you fall." **D'awwwwwwwwww.

Hm, the Fearsome Five? Gizmo, Psimon, Mammoth, Jinx? Check…._Billy Numerous?_ Okay, I admit, I should have used Shimmer (Dr. Light was unavailable, obviously), but I just never liked Shimmer. She seemed overpowered, and I have no idea what her personality is besides _mean._ Billy Numerous is hilarious. I should try to work him into things more often.

_**Beast Boy: "Dude! I've never been in a dog fight before...well, at least not without actually bein' a dog!" **_"Beast Boy's Day with Michael Vick: The Lost Chapter of 'The Real World: Titans Tower'."

Adding the Fearsome Five into this storyline was filler, I admit. It's just that Jupiter's plan felt a little empty without them. I mean, he was summoning the Titans to Alcatraz in the flashiest way possible, because Mr. Jupiter likes attention and big flashy affairs—but if they get there just to be immediately confronted by Jupiter and his secrets, then it felt a bit anticlimactic to me. The Fearsome Five fights added a little substance to Jupiter's spectacle.

The plot with Titans East destroying Jupiter's machines came about because I realized I needed Omen and Titans East to actually _do_ something other than just show up, otherwise they looked completely ineffective. That said, the machines were obviously just pointless decoys that did nothing. Jupiter was using the Blood Cowl to absorb and store the viewers' energy, not those machines. They were simply there to lead Lilith (and anyone else who may have caught whiff of Jupiter's plans) astray of his real plans.

"**The telekinetic let the rods get as close as he dared; as they came within a few feet of his body, the ends began to practically dissolve as he pulled them apart, scattering their shattered atoms to the wind." **This is the most impressive telekinesis I've _ever_ seen. Jupiter can control matter down to its individual _atoms_! Man, when Trigon gives someone powers, he doesn't mess around!

"**The arrogant man accented the word escaped by making air quotes with his fingers." **We all know this guy too.

**"What could you possibly gain by manipulating us like this? **_**Higher ratings?!" **_I love this line, not only because it's completely ridiculous, but also because it's basically _right_.

"_**Robin: "What?! **_**Flamebird**_** saving the world?! I hope this Omen knows what he's f-ing doing!" **_Oh Dick…what makes you automatically assume Omen is a guy?

The possibility of Jupiter being Lilith's father comes from the comics, where Jupiter _was_ revealed to be Lilith's father during the Jurgens' Teen Titans run in the 90s. Lilith never received a clear answer during the story, but I will say that, in my universe, Jupiter _wasn't_ her father. I still haven't 100% decided who _was_, but I have a few ideas.

Wow, I didn't say anything for pretty much the entire second half of the chapter. That makes sense, since it's just reveal after reveal falling into place. I do love how it plays out, however. I think it builds up awesomely, and leaves us ready to leap right into the action next chapter!

**CHAPTER 24: THE MOMENT OF TRUTH:**

"_**Or maybe she's under mind control, maybe she has multiple personalities, or maybe she really is just evil." **_These are all guesses that my readers made about what was up with Raven, so I decided to work the theories into the chapter itself.

_**Robin: "Hell, look at that! 'Sides Gar, it's only girls that can fly! That's not f-ing fair!" **_The Titans has always been a team where the girls seem to generally be more powerful than the guys. I like that.

'_**Go turn yourselves in, and if any of you try to do anything like this again, you're going to throw up until you're more dehydrated than astronaut food!' **_Lilith's use of telepathy here is slightly based on some tricks Jean Grey and Emma Frost pulled during Morrison's X-Men run. In a lot of ways, though, her telepathy, especially in this chapter, is based off Matt Parkman's from "Heroes", with fully worded commands needed to make mind-pushing work.

Magneta's freak-out in this chapter was not planned out ahead of time, but thrown in at the last minute as I wrote the chapter. She was kind of a "Point A to Point B" necessity, as in, "How do I transition from the Titans fighting goons to Beast Boy talking down Terra without it seeming awkward as hell?—I know, Magenta freak out!"

I still feel bad about bringing Terra back just to kill her—but her story didn't feel complete just leaving her in Zandia. It took me a while to figure out _why_ Terra offed herself—I knew it felt right, but I wasn't sure _why_. Then I came to the same realization Raven did: Terra had a death-wish. Maybe she wasn't sitting there thinking "I want to die", but she _definitely_ thought that a noble death would be the only way to redeem her past mistakes. It's a huge shame that Terra's tenure with the Titans had to take place during such a chaotic time—had she joined up earlier, maybe she could have worked past her issues.

I can't tell if Jupiter's death is perfectly ironic, or too good for such a bastard. I would have loved to torture him and drag the death out a little longer, but Raven's a pragmatist and wouldn't see the need for it—and there was no way the Titans were doing that, even if Jupiter did deserve it. It's funny to me, how Jupiter viewed himself (and therefore made the readers view him as) an ultimate evil, when ultimately, he was a necessary but temporary pawn in Raven's much bigger plan. The fact that someone ultimately so pointless caused so much pain and death is pretty tragic.

At this point, Roy constantly ending up naked is definitely a running gag—albeit, one that would make a lot more sense if this was illustrated. Oh well, I'm sure any of you who care have vivid enough imaginations.

I love when Raven goes through and psychoanalyzes the Titans one by one, calling them out on their weaknesses. It was a ton of fun to write. I admit, as much as I love the heroic versions of Raven in the comics and cartoons (and would never attempt to corrupt her in canon stories), it was especially fun to write this dark version of the character. There's a certain edge to her powerset I can only really take advantage of if she's evil.

I actually put a lot of work into the Salem Witch Trial aspect of Raven's origin. I chose to have Raven be conceived then because I knew she had been alive for hundreds of years, and that seemed an ideal place for her story to start if I wanted to place it in the past. When I realized Arella needed a new name (neither Arella nor Angela Roth seemed very 1600ish), I looked up a database of the names of the girls in Salem at the time of the trials. By mixing and matching the first and last names available, I came up with her new name, Abigail Good, a name which didn't belong to any real person at that time, yet fits in perfectly with the time period. For once I think I _actually pulled off_ research.

And this chapter is why I always say that the friendship between Starfire and Raven is the most important relationship in the entire series—if not for their bond, Trigon would have destroyed the Earth!

_**Beast Boy: "Man, I can't believe how brave Kory's bein'…but I don't think it's gonna work. It's pretty easy to lose faith in people, an' I know I've come pretty close myself a couple've times. It takes a lot to get it back, and I just don't think Raven's, y'know, **_**strong**_** enough to change her mind!" **_Gar's got a good point. One of Gar's biggest flaws is his insecurities, the fact that he has no idea how strong he actually is. When he focuses, he's stronger than anyone thinks—emotionally, even stronger than Raven!

I never have quite figured out why Lilith is immune to Raven and Trigon's abilities. I played pretty fast and loose with her powers, but at least I had the good sense to make fun of myself about it later on in the story.

**CHAPTER 25: I VS. I:**

The beginning of this chapter up until the middle of Starfire's fight was written in 2009, and the rest of the chapter was written almost a year later, in 2010. The reason why is a long story (I had trouble with this chapter, to say the least), I'm just giving you guys a head up in case my writing makes any significant changes over the gap in time. I'm curious to reread this and see whether it does myself.

I messed up the title of this chapter. It was _supposed_ to be "I Against I", which is a reference to an episode of _Degrassi: The Next Generation_ with the same title (_Degrassi_, meanwhile, stole the title from a _Bad Brains_ song.) By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late to change it.

There's a scene in the original "Terror of Trigon" story where we see Batman and Superman transformed into stone, a succinct, one panel explanation as to why only the Titans could handle this problem. The first half of this chapter is filling a similar function, only I decided to spend more time on it. It's the first time we've seen the supporting cast in this storyline, and in some cases, it moves ongoing plots along quite nicely (so that I can resolve them in the final chapter). I like the first half of this chapter a lot. It was the second half that gave me trouble.

"**Dammit! Stupid dome! How can she stop my horn?" **I always really loved this line, probably because of how awkward it is.

"**I don't even think he goes to this **_**school**_**." **I hadn't seen the movie when I wrote this, but now that I have, I really want to turn this into a _Mean Girls_ reference. "He doesn't even go here!"

In retrospect, I don't know why the Flash and Impulse ran. If they wanted to contact the JLA, they should have radioed or teleported. I wanted Wally to find their petrified statues, but I totally forgot that it was odd for that to have happened in the first place. Oh well…

"**Tell me, punk, just what makes you decide to pick on a bunch of kids anyway?" **One of my readers asked me this in a review, so I decided to have Deathstroke answer it personally in the story. I mean, Slade's a sociopath, I doubt he really even gave the Titans' ages any thought, and if he did, it certainly didn't faze him.

I originally planned to include a short scene of Animal Man and his family being frozen as they barbequed in his backyard, but I ended up not writing it, because it didn't move any plotlines forward _and_ it probably wouldn't have been all that entertaining. I don't think the chapter was really missing anything with this scene gone, but considering that I used every other member of the supporting cast in this chapter (and considering that Animal Man reappeared in the final chapter), it does make me a little sad we didn't check in on him in this chapter.

Finally, the reveal of Tim Drake's secret identity!

"**As she twirled her rod in her hand." **Okay, this was a poor choice of words on my part, I apologize.

"**Funny," chuckled Vic, "I figured you'd be a lot smaller…" **This line was actually inspired by a _Calvin and Hobbes_ strip, where this insult is constantly used against "the physical manifestation of Calvin's good side."

"**But I shall take that as a compliment!" **Yeah, I took this right from the animated series, where an almost identical exchange takes place. I just like the idea of Starfire's dark side looking up to Blackfire too much.

"**But there's no way Starfire can **_**ever**_** give up hope!" **And that's why I love her so much.

Yeah, Beast Boy's segment is definitely my favorite of the doppleganger fights, largely because it's not all a fight. That bit with the gun at the beginning is one of my favorite scenes in the whole series. To everyone, even to Gar himself, he appears to be the most emotionally fragile Titan, but it's about time Gar figured out, _he's stronger than he knows_.

Throughout the story, Gar could only talk if he was in his human form—in the comics he can talk in any form, but that never made any sense to me. This fight is the one time I broke that rule, allowing the two Beast Boys to talk as _any_ animal, since they were only inside Gar's head anyway. Anything goes there!

"_**I'm Donna Troy, bitch!" **_This line was the only good thing to come out of _Countdown to Final Crisis_, and I had no moral dilemma over swiping it. It was perfect in my story.

I'm unsure how I feel about Robin's fight. At the time I wrote it I liked it, then I didn't, and now, rereading it, I enjoyed it again. The general idea was that, unlike the other Titans, Robin _already_ faced his dark side and had turned away from it. I don't know if I conveyed it the best, however, and in retrospect, it was odd that I never addressed the death of Dick's parents in this fight. I'm not sure exactly how I would do it, but if I redid this chapter, I'd tweak this segment some. Regardless, I decided to put Dick through the wringer in the actual Trigon fight, since he'd gotten off easy facing his doppleganger.

"**The earth-shook and the ground shattered as the blast tore through the planet, barreling straight through and emerging from the other side in a tremendous explosion!" **I wanted my Trigon to be _powerful_. If his attack hits the ground, it isn't just _stopping_. It's taking the planet with it!

**CHAPTER 26: RAVEN'S GIFT:**

With the exception of the final chapter, this is the longest chapter in the story. With the exception of the Deathstroke story, it is also the chapter it took me the _least_ amount of time to write, taking only about three weeks. I poured my heart and soul into this chapter, and as a result, it is my favorite chapter and the one I reread the most. It _also_, however, completely burnt me out after I finished writing it. That was the first of many things that led me to taking _forever_ to write the final chapter.

As I've already said, I love writing in first person, so this segment with Wally was one of my favorites. Poor Wally didn't get to fight his dark side like the rest of the Titans, so in a way, this first person segment is his own little "I vs. I" section. Why is it in first person as opposed to the other Titans'? Well, Wally West, in the comics, is known for his constant first person narration. This seemed like the perfect time to say that iconic: "My name is Wally West. I'm the fastest man alive. I'm the Flash!" Or, at least as close as I could get to it in this story.

"_**Did losing my body change my personality, change something important about me, or was it really just that I couldn't handle it?" **_It's probably a little bit of both, truthfully.

"_**Where did it all go so wrong? When Mom and Dad finally broke my spirit and convinced me that there was no such **_**thing**_** as dreams?" **_In the comics, Wally became Kid Flash at the age of 10. He was young and still full of dreams, even if his parents did everything they could to keep his head to the ground. In my story, however, Wally was 15 or 16 at the time of his accident. While losing his body had a _lot_ to do with Wally's attitude, the fact that he endured 5 or 6 more years of dealing with his parents' pessimistic viewpoints probably had more influence than people realized.

"_**Good ol' "Waffling Wally"! I never know **_**what **_**to do!" **_"Waffling Wally" was a nickname readers of "The New Teen Titans" gave Wally in the letters column, referring to the fact that he spent his entire time on the team debating whether to stay a Titan or go to school full time.

"_**Then is this only happening here—some forgotten Commie Tech gone wrong or something?" **_In "The New Teen Titans", Wally was played as fiercely conservative, and openly disdained the Russian, communist superhero Red Star. This was just a passing reference to that part of his past.

I wasn't sure if I wanted Wally to be able to vibrate through solid objects or not. I was leaning towards no, but ended up letting him just because I wanted him to be able to vibrate though the wall to see Iris in person. In retrospect, I regret this slightly. If I ever _do_ write a sequel, Wally's ability to vibrate will make him _very_ overpowered.

Being able to make a suit out of solidified Speed Force is another unique ability Wally gained as an adult that I gave him access to a little early in my story.

Though it doesn't become obvious until next chapter, people complimenting Wally on his costume becomes a running gag.

"**Your foolish mortal logic does not apply to me. I am the source of all darkness. I **_**exist**_** to bring everything to ruin. Creation only **_**exists**_** so that I can destroy it. It is the natural order of things." **I hated how, in "The New Teen Titans," Trigon was some sort of warlord with a dimension full of peasants he abused and forced to worship him. Trigon should be above petty things like that. He is a force of nature, like a cosmic level hurricane, decimating everything in his path.

I put a ton of thought into fighting Trigon, partially because I'd never been fully satisfied with a Trigon fight before. If Trigon's eye attacks hits you, there's no surviving it (like the cartoon)—hell, there's no _corpse_. If he physically hits you, you're still probably dead, and if you do survive, you'd be hanging on by a thread. And he _certainly_ isn't going to give you time to strategize. _That's_ where I initially ran into trouble, and that's also where I came up with the idea of using Lilith's telepathy to unite the team. Now I can't picture this Trigon fight without it, but it's surprising how last minute that idea was.

"_**'And those grunts're nothin'!'**_** added Dick casually. **_**'The more fodder a guy has, the s-tier they are, we all know that!'" **__Someone's _been reading TV Tropes.

"_**Speed: "Okay, that would've been good to know**_** before**_** I tried this little stunt—if I lend somebody speed, I'm giving them **_**my **_**speed now!" **_Lending and stealing speed is another hax level ability, so I had to nerf it a little bit. In the comics, Wally _always_ had this limitation on the ability, but considering that my version of Wally was originally a _part_ of the Speed Force, it didn't make sense to limit his abilities at the time.

I'm annoyed by the scene where Vic lets himself fall into the bottomless crevice in order to save the lives of Gar and Wally. First of all, it was pointless, as Vic has a grappling arm he could have used to have grabbed the edge (I completely forgot about it writing the chapter). Second, Vic just defeated his dark side, so it's a bit of a regression for his old faults to start surfacing again, especially since Terra just pulled a similar stunt. I smoothed it over by having Vic and Gar address it in the final chapter, but it's something I would change if I had the chance. I'd have Vic save _himself_.

"_**'You threw a building?' **_**marveled Gar. **_**'Crowning moment of awesome, Donna! Seriously!'" **_Okay, Gar and Dick have apparently been reading TV Tropes _together_.

"**Enough!" cried Trigon." **Hey look, it's the first time one of Trigon's lines has used an exclamation point! Uh-oh…that can't be good for the Titans.

"**Donna Troy reached the apex of her jump before diving, holding in her hands a massive pole, its end sharpened into a point!" **I didn't take the time to address where this came from, so I'll just say that Donna flew into the city and snapped a flagpole off one of the buildings.

"**It was a memory from only a brief time ago—but with everything that had happened, it felt like **_**years**_** had passed!" **I'm making fun of myself a bit here, since it had been over a year since I wrote the chapter the memory came from.

I had a hard time figuring out how to handle the reveal of Raven's gift. Originally I wanted to have Lilith explain everything halfway through the chapter, but while that would make everything clear, it would also rid the Titans' one-by-one last ditch attacks against Trigon of any tension. Then I thought I'd wait to reveal everything until _after_ Trigon had been defeated, but I was afraid it would make Raven's sudden appearance look out of place, like a Dues Ex Machina. So in the end, even though it was the most complicated method to employ, I decided to reveal the truth little by little through the final half of the chapter, so by the time the readers knew just exactly how to beat Trigon, only Robin was left standing. I think this was the right decision—I hope it worked for the best!

I feel bad not allowing Cyborg to go all out and launch a massive attack against Trigon like the other Titans. I _wanted_ to have Cyborg jack into Titans Tower and combine to fire a massive Sonic Beam, but there was no way to pull if off with the Tower petrified. I guess it worked out fine in the end anyway. Starfire would never have had the power to damage Trigon the way she did on her own, so it was a real team effort anyway.

"_**All my rage, my fear, my love, my happiness, my sadness, my will to live, every last bit of it has gone into this blast! Feel it, Trigon! This is the power of Starfire!" **_"Shining Finger!" Yeah, this is definitely a _G Gundam_-esque line. Man I loved that show.

I'm horrible at Old English, and was basically just making it up when I wrote Donna's prayer. I hope it wasn't _too_ much of an embarrassment.

_**Speed: "Good Lord, he's getting faster! Has he been holding back all this time?!" **_No, but Trigon was imprisoned for centuries, and upon being released back into our dimension, was not at his full power. Also, I view Trigon as a being who is constantly growing more and more powerful, with no upper limit to that strength. Left on his own, he would continue to grow in strength eternally.

"_**The Teen Titans, through their courage and heart, have forged a weapon actually capable of destroying Trigon! Now it's up to me to **_**fire**_** that weapon!" **_I love the phrasing of this. I wanted to make sure that it didn't look like the Titans were superfluous, like Lilith was doing all the work. Lilith was essential, but would have been helpless without the Titans. Again, a true team effort!

"**As a body approaches the speed of light, relativistic effects begin to take over. As Wally had already experienced, visual input begins to change, undergoing something called a Blueshift. However, a more subtle effect also takes place—the body's mass begins to increase toward infinity." **I know nothing about science. This (presumably true) factoid is paraphrased from a Grant Morrison JLA comic, where Wally uses a similar lightspeed punch to attack a White Martian (with far more success).

I wish I had Wally's punch do a little more damage to Trigon—at least knock him off his feet instead of just sending him backwards.

"_**No matter who you are, there's **_**always**_** someone stronger than you, f-head!**_**" **Words to live by.

**CHAPTER 27: SERIES FINALE!:**

It's embarrassing how long it took me to write this chapter. As I said, part of this was due to being a little burnt out after writing the Trigon fight. And then I procrastinated, and got distracted, but beyond all that, I genuinely had a hard time writing this chapter. Part of that was that it ended up taking a lot more time than I thought it would to introduce a new character in the last chapter (I wouldn't change adding the new Raven, but I wouldn't recommend it to any of you). The other part is that I had a sheet of paper ticking off all the plot points I had to wrap up in this chapter, and as I tried to do that, the chapter just kept getting longer and longer and longer. This is actually the longest chapter in the story, and I feel like it's wrong for the epilogue chapter to essentially be longer than the climatic final fight. But whatever. I'm happy with it in the end. Changing any of these aspects of this chapter would require going back and changing the entire structure of the story, and no way am I doing that.

**"Lilith's voice echoed inside the heads of the six Titans, immediately pulling them into her telepathic conference call." **I imagine that when Lilith connects the Titans minds and they all meet together astrally, that they look different than normal. In Joe Kelly's "JLA", the League would sometimes meet together in astral form, and they would take on the form of how they really view themselves. Wonder Woman was larger than life, Flash was a blur, Green Lantern was in armor, Superman was in farmer's clothes, J'onn was in his true Martian form, and Batman was a dark wraith. I toyed with having the Titans do something similar, but it would have taken too much time and not really have served any purpose. If this were a comic, maybe, but as a written story, the amount of prose needed wouldn't be worth the payoff.

_**"Speed: "He's got a point. We're old enough to fight monsters and psychopaths and air our lives on TV, but not to smoke, drink or vote. America, people!" **_Wally's got a point.

**"I don't know **_**anything**_** about myself! You say my name is Raven, but, but it just doesn't mean anything to me. And so I sit here and I can feel what you feel, and somehow I know that you feel happy or scared, but I have no **_**idea**_** what **_**I**_** feel. I don't know **_**anything**_**." **I wanted to get more into this, about how Raven doesn't even necessarily understand what the emotions she feels _are_, but again, no time and probably not really a point. I even contemplated changing this speech, but I like it, so I left it in.

I keep speaking as if Raven was reincarnated, but technically speaking, that isn't the case. Reincarnation is when a soul is brought back to life in a new body, but what happened to Raven is the complete _opposite._ Her soul died, and a new soul was born in Raven's old body. I still call it reincarnation for simplicity's sake, but it bugs me to do so.

It kind of surprised me how important Lilith ended up being in this chapter, but after the huge role she played in the Trigon fight, I couldn't just forget her, or she _would_ just be a plot device. It was kinda fun figuring out who she was on the fly.

I didn't have Raven use the confessional until she was by herself on Azarath, and that wasn't intentionally my plan, but it works out cool that way. This is the first time where we really see things from this new Raven's perspective, and while the confessional usually allows me to show the perspective of characters who aren't the focus of the scene, I didn't want to use it on a _brand new character_ until we had the time to focus on her a little. Plus, at the beginning we weren't sure what Raven's allegiances were. It wasn't a mystery for very long, but still, immediate confessionals would have kinda ruined that.

**"But ever since I showed up knowing all the answers, it seems like everybody expects me to be able to do almost anything—like I'm a walking Dues Ex Machina or something!" **Slightly related to the above point, this is me slightly poking fun at myself for, at times, using Lilith as more of a plot device than a person.

_**"Wonder Girl: "He's **_**kidding**_**, right? That was a far bigger ordeal than it needed to be!" **_Just making fun of myself a little bit again, heh.

_**"Omen: "Okay, I'm either getting anger or indecisiveness out of this. Which will it be, Wally?" **_Originally I had Wally reply with anger, but I went back and deleted all of that and went with the indecisive response that made into the finished chapter. At first it felt natural to me that Wally would be offended, but it felt like one step forwards, two steps back for him, plus it ended up making the entire exchange much longer, so I wisely trimmed it down, and I'm much happier with the current outcome.

I admit, after writing this segment, I slightly ship Wally and Lilith. If Fran doesn't work out, there might be something there.

_**"Beast Boy: "The **_**old**_** Raven, she would **_**never**_** call us by our names." **_I did this to make Raven seem more distant and aloof, like she wasn't really connecting with the Titans on a personal level by only referring to them by their code-names. That's why it was such a big deal when Raven started calling Starfire by her actual name.

**"And I **_**doubt **_**MTV cares that subtle brainwashing played a part in them." **I just wanted to say that I really like this expression, subtle brainwashing.

**"Vic pressed a button on his wrist, and a holographic screen came to life, displaying footage of the Titans fighting Trigon—footage taken directly from the cameras circulating through each of the seven teens." **Actually, at this point, Wally no longer has any cameras inside of his body—they were left behind in his old Speed Force shell. Originally this was one of the points I was going to address this chapter, and have him reinjected with a new camera halo—but I cut it. Honestly, what was the point? Anyone who was smart enough to notice this would be smart enough to realize that they'll obviously reinject him before the next season starts.

**"Speed ran to Belgium and picked up waffles for himself and Lilith." **Originally there was more about these waffles, a long scene describing Wally trying to rescue them when Impulse blew in. I deleted it almost as soon as I wrote it. It was funny, but again, too long and too pointless for this chapter. That was, again, part of why this chapter was so difficult to write. I'm not used to having to worry about length in fan fiction.

It doesn't make any sense for Titans East to show up this late in the game—they should have arrived as soon as the Trigon fight was over. I really don't have any excuse or reason for why it happened this way—I just needed them out of the way for a bit so the Titans could handle some affairs on their own. Just go with it.

**"Suddenly a green chimpanzee was on Bart Allen's back." **Hey, Impulse has a monkey on his back! I know, I'm awful.

**"Leave Raven alone!" commanded Gar Logan."** "Leave Britney alone!" (Again, I'm awful.)

**"That makes less sense than...than...than something that doesn't make much sense!" **This was originally just a placeholder line until I could think of something more clever, but I never did. I think this line is funny anyway, though, and Flamebird probably isn't the cleverest girl around anyway.

Green Arrow's appearance in this chapter is a holdover from the time when the _entire_ Justice League was supposed to show up on Titans Island (see the Deleted Scenes)—it seemed inappropriate to have Green Arrow on the island and not have him say _something_ to Roy. After I shrunk the size of the JLA team, I kept Green Arrow, partially because, after all the times I mentioned him throughout the story, it was nice to have him actually show up, and also because I used the Roy/Ollie scene to transition into Diana/Donna.

Originally there was going to be more conflict between the Titans and the League over what to do about Raven, but it felt like beating a dead horse. Plus, it made the League look more antagonistic than I wanted them to. The two teams have finally come to a point where—Batman aside—they are finally comfortable with each other. Why ruin it?

_**"Cause that'd require some serious sight beyond sight!" **_Thundercats, hooooo!

**"Flamebird couldn't help but to think about how much he reminded her of a ginger Joseph Gordon-Levitt." **Line of the chapter.

Ace Atchinson is a character I swiped from the Peter David/Todd Nauck "Young Justice" comic, where he fulfilled almost the exact same role, a dopey cameraman for a MTV-stand-in station.

Meanwhile, for those of you wondering, Agent Daniel Chase IS the Titan "Danny Chase", only given a makeover so as not to be as obnoxious. In the comics, Danny's parents were government agents, so it seemed a natural direction to take him. I didn't get much time to flesh him out in this chapter, but if I ever write a sequel, he'll have a big part.

_**"Robin: "Hell, what are they gonna follow us up with anyway? '**_**The Real World: Wilmington, Delaware**_**' ain't gonna cut it!" **_I _live_ in Delaware, so I'm _allowed_ to make fun of my rinky-dink home state.

Although there are obviously differences in the characters, I think that, when written correctly, Wonder Woman is _definitely_ the Starfire of the Justice League. No one loves as much as Wonder Woman.

I do think Cyborg would be a good leader, probably a better leader than Donna, but not as good of one as Dick will be. He's a bit too sheepish for the role, and also, I just wanted to have a character who would be good in the leader role, but didn't really _want_ to be leader. I thought that was interesting.

The Titans Museum idea, as I present it in the chapter, is a bit underdeveloped. I was tempted to cut it from the chapter altogether, but if I ever _do_ write the sequel, it will have an important role in at least one of the storylines, so I wanted to keep it in anyway.

**"Batman's eyes narrowed into angry slits. He **_**hated**_** Barry's museum." **Hahahahahahahahahaha.

_**"Wow. Who woulda ever thought Donna an' I would end up with so much in common?" **_I like this a lot. Gar and Donna _always_ had a bit of shared background in common, but this is the first time they've really made a connection. I think both characters need as many real connections as possible.

In "The New Teen Titans", I was never a huge fan of the storylines where the Titans went away into space or other strange, far out places, which is why, even when the Titans took on aliens or mystical creatures, they stayed grounded in San Francisco. That said, if I ever do write the sequel, we will see Starfire take care of her unfinished business on Tamaran.

**"Freak teleporter accident," answered Hawkgirl quickly, showing obvious discomfort." **I didn't want to spend too much time on it, but my version of Hawkgirl _is_ based on the one from the "Justice League" animated series. I haven't quite decided if the events of "Starcrossed" have taken place yet (or if they will _ever_ take place) in this universe, but it didn't hurt to throw a few references to it.

**"The Atom, Mr. Terrific, and Steel have been tinkering with them in their spare time, but have yet to get them working." ** A very minor running theme I've noticed in my story is that the League is so busy that they don't have much time to devote to side-projects (this is even going back Barry trying to figure out how to get Wally's body back.) The Titans have nothing but time, so I think they'll fair a little better in this area.

**"Remember when we were fightin' Trigon and he opened up that pit 'neath me an' you an' Wally? The **_**first thing**_** you tried to do was throw yourself down the pit so we could survive! Why didn't you just shoot out with your extenda-arm and grab the side? It doesn't make any sense!" **I mentioned in the commentary for the Trigon fight how I regretted this scene. So this scene here with Gar and Vic was my way of trying to make it passable.

**"After that wave hit and Batman ran off, I hacked into the League's security system and watched Zatanna's reenactment of the Trigon fight for myself." Grinning, the boy continued, "After that, I hacked into the League teleporter and brought myself here." **_"He hacked the motion sensors!"_

**"Donna practically took a battle stance as she continued her apology." **Donna's getting better at relating to people, but still, she's much better at fighting and stuff. It feels perfectly right to me for Donna to approach the rough business of apologizing to Kyle like she would a battle.

**"Uh..." Fran stammered, "Hawaii?" **Despite it being an unimportant line, I actually spent a lot of time figuring out where Magenta would want to go for vacation. Hawaii seemed like a reasonable response from a Midwestern farm girl who probably hasn't traveled much.

I wish I would have had the Justice League's lawyer be Kate Spencer (Manhunter.) I tried to think some sort of injoke I could do with the lawyers, but at the time I could only think of Daredevil; I didn't remember Manhunter until much later. Oh well.

Originally, I planned to have Jericho and Ravager join the Titans at the end of this chapter as part of their probation, but then I realized that, if I wrote a sequel, I didn't want them to be full-time Titans, so I decided not to do that. I was still going to have them show up at the Tower, however; but then, as I was writing this chapter, I realized that they had only been in DEO custody for a day at this point. Having Joe and Rose fully recovered after only a day was ridiculous, so I changed their role to the exchange between Kory and Daniel Chase found in this chapter. I wish I could have worked the characters themselves in, however.

The epilogue is one of my favorite parts of the story. I love the interaction between all the characters, and I'm glad I let the confessionals go for a while, cause it felt a lot snappier just letting the characters play off of each other. What was left for them to confess, anyway? Everything's out in the open now.

**"Flamebird met up with her cousin Kate and shared her heroic tales with anyone within earshot." **Bette's cousin, of course, is Kate Kane, also known as Batwoman! I doubt Bette knows that, though.

**"Souvenirs!" called the speedster, holding another beret above his head."** This is a reference to the Young Justice version of Wally West, who keeps a souvenir from each mission.

**"What's wrong with Speed?" "It's **_**boring!**_**" exclaimed Beast Boy. "'Sides, I think it's already taken." **There's a young hero in Marvel Comics who uses the name Speed...but how would _Gar_ know about that?!

I don't care if it's sacrilege, Kid Flash really _is_ a stupid codename.

**"And I claim the Sharnagle Beetles!" **Yup, these are definitely named after someone I know.

From almost the start I wanted to have the final Role Call, with new descriptions of the Titans, as the last part of this chapter, like movies where the title doesn't show up until the end of the film. In a way, this whole story was the origin story of the Teen Titans, the path all seven took to becoming a hero, so it's fitting to end the story with the promise of who they'll be in the future. It should be a grand adventure!

**DELETED SCENES:**

Okay guys, here's the deal. I don't have these for the whole story, but in the process of finishing up Chapter 27, I ended up cutting out several large chunks of story that I liked, but really didn't have any time or need for in the story. I ended up saving them, so now's the time to check them out. First you get the deleted scene, then my commentary explaining what it is and why it got cut.

**KYLE'S IMAGINATION:**

**Scene:**

_ Wonder Girl: "Of all the Leaguers they could send...they send Kyle..."_

"Hey guys," said the Green Lantern quickly, looking down at the crowd for only a moment before turning his gaze to the ocean. Holding out one arm, he pointed his ring towards one shore of Titans Island. "I'll be down in a second."

A burst of green light—energy shaped and molded by Kyle Rayner's impressive willpower—exploded from the ring. Just before it hit the water the beam flattened and spread across the ocean's surface. The assembled Titans watched in awe as a green dock, stretching across half of the Island's shore and forty feet into the ocean, formed effortlessly.

Dropping to the ground, the green aura surrounding Kyle Rayner disappeared. A slightly cocky grin filled his face as he admired his work. The dock was intricately detailed—it was possible to see every plank of wood, complete with knotholes. A few life preservers hung from the railings. A peg-legged sailor hobbled across its length, while two more—who appeared to be Gilligan and the Skipper—dropped supplies into a small boat tied to the dock's side.

In a blur of red and yellow, the Flash was at his teammate's side. "That all seems a little...unnecessary, don't you think?"

Kyle shrugged and chuckled. "Not really."

_ Wonder Girl: "That was one of the things I always did love about Kyle...he's got quite an imagination!"_

**Commentary: **Originally, when the Justice League arrived on Titans Island, the ENTIRE League was going to come. Since that's about 60 heroes, I needed room for them all to stand around. So, Kyle made this dock to add some extra space to the island. However, first I ended up axing the conflict between the Titans and the League over Raven. Without that conflict, there was no reason for the entire League to show up, so I cut the team down to just the Leaguers who had previously appeared. With that small team, I no longer needed Kyle to build the dock, so I cut the scene out. I still really like this little scene, though.

**GREEN ARROW NEEDS TO SHAVE:**

**Scene:**

Decked out in green from head to toe, Queen carried a bow and a quiver full of arrows nearly identical to Roy's. Although a domino mask and a hood obscured most of his face, his prominent blonde goatee could still be seen plain as day—it was a wonder Green Arrow was ever able to keep a secret identity at all. Indeed, his distinctive facial hair was part of the reason Deathstroke was able to discover Queen's identity so quickly, all those years ago.

**Commentary:** This is just some extra description of Green Arrow that I cut for space and because it was basically unnecessary. By this point in the story, anyone reading knows what Green Arrow looks like, and since he only appears for a few paragraphs, this much time spent on his appearance seemed overkill. I do miss getting the chance to make fun of his goatee, though.

**AGE LIMIT:**

**Scene:**

"Holy crap!" blurted out Garfield Logan. "Are you asking us to join the Justice League?!"

_ Beast Boy: "Is this what winning an Oscar feels like?!"_

"We would be honored," answered Superman, "But unfortunately, we cannot let anyone under the age of 18 join the team." As he was met by 14 sets of blank, teenaged stares, even the man of steel felt uneasy. "It's not our rule, it's due to legal reasons."

_ Wonder Girl: "I'm surprised Superman brought that up. The League always tried to keep that fact under wraps; after all, children aspire to be like the League, and they don't want to dash the hopes of the very people they're trying to inspire._

_ "So if they're publicly revealing this, then it means there must have been a _lot_ of pressure to allow us to join the League. I'm constantly surprised by the fanbase this show's gotten!_

_ "You know, I mentioned in the past that I had an unspoken invitation to join the team—or at least, I _assumed_ I did. I guess that was because my past was a mystery; there was no way to prove my American citizenship. So, technically, Kory and Raven could join the League with little trouble, but the boys and Lilith—and myself, now that Dick found my mother? No way. It'd be way too easy to find our birth certificates and end up in a legal hell._

_ "And I think most of the League would rather fight through the _real_ Hell than a legal one."_

"If you guys can't have us on the League, than what's this all about?" asked Wally. "Do you want to turn us into some sort of Justice Little League or something?"

Gar pictured the Titans dressed up in baseball uniforms and giggled.

"I do not want things to change!" interjected Princess Koriand'r with her usual vigor. "Our team is finally fine the way it is!"

"But things _gotta_ change, Kory," replied Cyborg somberly.

**Commentary: **This was originally in the story just before the negotiations (you can see that the last two paragraphs are basically in the story, just in an altered form). The idea that no one under the age of 18 is allowed to join the league is an idea I never mentioned in the story before, but one that will be important in the sequel if I ever write it. So for a while I thought it was important to set that up in this chapter, but almost immediately after writing it I realized that it just felt superfluous. The chapter was long enough as it was. If I ever need to reveal this in the future, I'll just do it then.

**CHARACTER BIOS:**

**THE TEEN TITANS—teenage heroes and reality TV stars:**

**COMMENTARY: **There are many eras of Teen Titans out there to read: the original Fab 5, the Zero Hour team, and Jurgens Team from the 90s, Geoff Johns' revival Titans…but when I started thinking up ideas for this story, I never doubted for even a second that I was basing this story off the iconic "New Teen Titans," Marv Wolfman and George Perez's classic Titans tales from the 80s. And there was no doubt that the seven Titans I would use would be the original seven New Teen Titans. It's not that there isn't influences from other eras of Titans in here (I took a lot of influence form the animated series and the Geoff Johns' Titans, as well as bits and pieces from almost every incarnation of the team); but the New Teen Titans are the reason why the Titans are such a well-loved franchise in the first place. I hope what I write can be half as good as that run.

**ROBIN: **

**NAME:** Dick Grayson

**AGE: **16

**OCCUPATION:** Former circus performer, currently "reality" television star and crime fighter. Leader of the Teen Titans.

**ABILITIES:** Robin has no metahuman abilities to speak of. However, he does possess boundless confidence, the ability to excel at everything he tries, and is a born leader.

**SKILLS: **Having been trained in the field ever since he could walk, Robin is one of the best acrobats on the planet, perhaps the only one capable of performing a quadruple somersault. Thanks to his travels around the world as well as intense training, he has mastered several forms of martial arts, both armed and unarmed. He's also a proficient detective, and is currently being trained in tactical maneuvers to supplement his already decent knowledge of the subject.

**WEAPONS:** Robin fights with a multitude of weapons, which he mostly stores in his belt, although a few are hidden in other discreet locations across his costume. (Originally Mr. Jupiter provided his weapons, but now that he has died, the funding will be split between the DEO and the Justice League.) These weapons include a collapsible bo-staff, razor-tipped boomerangs known as Redbirds, various disks containing explosives, freezing capsules, and flash-bang grenades, as well as smoke pellets, one-use boosters in the soles of his boots, and other various weapons that can be switched out depending on the situation.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **So, as I mentioned earlier, one of the core concepts of this story is that I would change one event in the backstory of each character and see how it fundamentally altered them. Dick Grayson, of course, was one of the biggest changes. (On a side-note, I don't even know if, from a legal standpoint, the circus would have been allowed to retain custody of Dick. Probably not. But I don't mind ignoring that, I'm sure there's some way around it.) My thinking was that Dick was always naturally talented, outgoing and a bit cocky. In the comics, being raised by a brooding, somewhat aloof loner like Batman helped to temper these tendencies in Dick. In my story, instead, he was spoiled rotten by his (well-intentioned) guardians at the circus. Dick's confidence, which is good in reasonable portions, was inflated into a massive ego.

For some reason I always thought of Dick's arc to be the closest to the classical hero's journey, and in some ways it probably is; regardless, for me the most important part of Dick's story was that he wanted to be a hero, that he had the _skills_ to be a hero, but that he wasn't sure of the best way to use them. His quest was the transformation from the team's weak link into a man capable of leading them all. (I find it funny that the "Young Justice" cartoon hit some slightly similar notes with Robin, showing that he would be capable of leading the team some day, but at the moment didn't have the skills necessary. Still, in Young Justice, Dick is said to be "destined" to lead the team, and they're just waiting for him to be up to the task. In my story, Dick is the underdog, not even in the running for team leader, and his acquiring the ability to lead surprises even Dick himself. It feels more earned to me that way.)

Still, I was actually quite a bit into the story (close to the Titans East stuff) before I decided exactly how I'd get Dick from Point A to Point B. Originally I thought that tragedy would rock Dick and cause him to reevaluate himself; I contemplated having Dick fail to save a civilian child, and I also considered having Tim Drake die. Eventually, though, I decided on the storyline I actually used, and considering that Dick is a character full of confidence and ego, I like having his biggest issue be his own insecurities. There's something interesting in the fact that Dick was his own worse enemy, and it's also why Dick's fight against his dark side during Trigon's attack ended up being so easy—he'd already spent the entire story, in a way, grappling with the dark side of his personality. I grappled with myself a bit due to this plot, never feeling quite confident in it. Having just reread the full story, I feel like it worked and I ended up happy with it, but I can see signs of my insecurity in the writing, mostly in the fact that, every time I mention Dick's dilemma, I feel the need to go back to the Dr. Light fight and recap the entire saga.

Dick's costume is basically the red and black costume that Tim Drake wore in the comics after "One Year Later", only minus the spikes on the gloves (since Dick wasn't associated with Batman). If I ever write a sequel, I'll tweak his costume to look more like the one Dick wears in "Young Justice", and I'll probably lose the cape completely (and give him gliding capabilities similar to what Nightwing has in "Batman: The Animated Series"). I never really felt the need to have Dick "graduate" to Nightwing. In this universe, "Robin" is _Dick's_ name, not the name of Batman's partner, and it's one that can grow up alongside him (if anything, _Tim_ will probably change names eventually).

Every character an author writes ends up with a little bit of the author inside them, and I suppose Dick is no exception. Especially in the early chapters, he was a bit of an outlet for some pent-up pervertedness. Still, of the seven Titans, Dick is by far the one least like myself. He's actually modeled a little more after a friend I used to have in high school (the guy's a total dick now, or maybe he always was and I just didn't notice it back then). This is probably why Dick ended up being the most difficult character for me to write. Dick's constant cursing ended up being a bit of a crutch for me, a way to make his voice more unique. I'm not happy with the sheer amount of cursing from him, but besides that, I'm very happy with how the character ended up. Someday I would like to revisit Dick and see how leadership has changed him.

**WONDER GIRL:**

**NAME: **Donna Troy (Originally Donna Montoni)

**AGE: **17

**OCCUPATION: **"Reality" television star and crimefighter. Former leader of the Teen Titans.

**ABILITIES: **Thanks to the use of the Amazonian Purple Ray, Donna has been blessed with abilities almost comparable to her sister's, Wonder Woman's. She possesses the abilities of flight, enhanced stamina, durability, and reflexes, great speed (her top speed is probably around Mach 2, though it takes effort to reach), and tremendous super strength. In fact, in terms of raw strength, Donna is the strongest member of the Teen Titans.

**SKILLS:** Trained by the greatest Amazon warriors, Donna is proficient in the arts of warfare and battle, as well as several forms of martial arts. She also has a keen tactical mind.

**WEAPONS:** Donna is armed with a pair of unbreakable bracelets that can deflect any weapon or attack, and with a golden lasso blessed by Zeus himself. Powered by Donna's anger, the lasso can strike targets with a portion of Zeus's mighty lightning.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **So Donna is the exception to the rule. With her, I didn't change one thing about her past to see how it changed her character. I just flat-out changed her character. I _love_ Donna Troy in the comics, but she was too nice for a reality show, and I'd already decided that Cyborg was going to be the one sane, reasonable character on the team (a reality show doesn't need more than one of those). Donna's behavior is modeled after a lot of teenage girls I know. If anything, I was just trying to see what a typical, average girl would act like if she'd been whisked away to an island of all women, granted amazing powers, and left to struggle with a unique heritage. There is one big change to Donna that would explain it all, though, even if I didn't find it until later: my Donna is an entirely different _person_. She's Donna Montoni, whereas the Donna in the comics is Donna Hinkley Stacey. That alone explains the changes in her personality.

Donna was already a well established hero before the beginning of the story—her arc was more of an arc of self-discovery. Prior to the story, Donna lived in a very self-centered, privileged world. Her story ended up being a true series of unfortunate events, but each time Donna was knocked down a peg, she gained new insight and empathy. Overall, I think that, alongside Gar and _possibly_ Wally, it's the best executed character arc in the story. I'm very happy with the outcome and, with the small exception of a few over-bumbling moments early in the story, I wouldn't change a thing about Donna's arc.

I know absolutely nothing about mythology, and I found the "New Teen Titans" stories involving the Greek Gods to be unfortunately boring, so I never got around to including any mythology based stories for Donna. I'm completely fine with that, as I was trying to keep this story grounded pretty squarely in plain old super-heroics, and it also allowed me to shape a more unique, character-driven arc around Donna (you'll even notice that the entire format of Donna's arc was different, with the heroic battle coming halfway through and the rest of the storyline devoted to the aftermath).

Donna's costume is pretty much the costume Cassandra Sandsmark wore after "One Year Later", only instead of jeans, she wore tights. It felt more colorful and more modern than Donna's old uniform. I also gave Donna Cassie's lasso, which I admit, probably doesn't make a lot of sense, but I really like the lightning lasso, and its anger-based motif fit this short-tempered Donna Troy.

Donna is one of the most natural characters for me to write. Short-tempered, a bit anal-retentive, concerned with schedules and plans and appearances, slightly self righteous, and these are all qualities I can pull from myself in spades. It was quite gratifying to see Donna grow, and I hope it's helped me grow as well.

**SPEED:**

**NAME:** Wally West

**AGE: **15

**OCCUPATION: **Former student. Currently a "reality" television star and crimefighter.

**ABILITIES: (Chapters 1-21)**: At the outset of the series, Wally had lost his body. His mind, soul and consciousness were instead tethered to the Speed Force itself. Made of pure energy, Wally was able to move at speeds surpassing the speed of light and enter the Speed Force at will. He was intangible in his natural form, but was also able to condense the energy making up his body into a brittle-but-still-solid shell that allowed him to interact with the real world. He was also able to lend or steal speed from other people or objects with little to no effort.

**(Chapters 24-27):** Wally has been chosen by the mythical Speed Force, the source of all momentum, and is therefore fueled by a portion of its vast power. This allows Wally to move at velocities nearing the speed of light, as well as vibrate his molecules through solid objects. Due to his unique relationship with the Speed Force, Wally also possesses powers other speedsters don't, such as the ability to lend or steal speed from other people/objects and to create a suit from solidified Speed Force energy.

**SKILLS:** Having become a superhero straight out of high school, Wally has no special skills or training besides the ones picked up during his many life-and-death battles.

**WEAPONS:** N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **There are two (rather obvious) changes in Wally's back story: 1. That Wally lost his body in the accident, and 2. that he was significantly older when the accident took place. Actually, Speed's personality was based a bit off the way Cyborg, in the comics, behaved immediately after his accident, a sentiment I touched on in the story by having Vic identify with Wally. Given that the comic Wally West is quick tempered, stubborn, and sarcastic, _especially_ during his teenage years, I do feel that he might have reacted similar to this if faced with the same situation.

I didn't see it when I was first writing the story, but rereading the early chapters, I can see how Wally can be hard to read about, and how my interpretation might even be a bit troubling to fans of the comic version. I just want to say that the comic version of Wally West is my favorite comic character of all time, and I meant absolutely no disrespect to him. The nice thing about alternate universes is that you can do anything you like to the character, and much like Raven, I would never write the canon Wally the way I wrote this one.

At one point, after getting his body and his powers back, Wally wonders whether his bad behavior is due to his own personality, or if losing his body drove him slightly mad. I do think both are slightly true. That said, while getting his body back gave Wally a nice extra boost, it was still his own personality holding him back even when he went back to school. And that's the interesting thing to me about Wally's character arc: He doesn't really progress as a character until pretty much the final few chapters of the story. Wally isn't the same as Cyborg, as much as everyone was expecting him to be; not everyone has the same capacity to recover from tragedy, which everyone finally realized and decided to pitch in and help him. That said, Wally couldn't blame all his problems on the accident or on his innate traits, and that's what he realizes when he goes back to school and finds out that life there isn't as sweet as he'd thought it'd be. Wally was holding himself back from being happy or finding something that made him happy, and when he finally realized this, he grew as a person. So I'd say Wally's arc was both an arc of self discovery (though different from Donna's) and a bit of a hero's quest as well, though his quest culminated in him realizing that he _wanted_ to be a hero. And hey, when he finally did, it seems like it might just come naturally to him! Maybe.

Wally's initial appearance as a speed specter is actually based off of the artist Justiano's rendition of the villain Zolomon Hunter/Zoom found in "The Flash" #219 and #1/2. Here Zoom is drawn as a literal phantom, fluctuating in shape and size and generally being intensely menacing and somewhat inhuman, and it's actually what inspired the idea of Wally losing his body at all (technically, the idea of Wally being a speed specter came from his role in "Kingdom Come", but Zoom gave me the visual inspiration to go through with it and make it my own unique idea). Wally's later costume, once he got his costume back, is just the basic Kid Flash costume. Wally constantly wearing hockey jerseys in his civilian uniform was inspired by Geoff Johns' Flash run, where Wally was a hockey fan and Keystone City itself was shown to be a huge blue-collar, hockey lovin' town.

I agree with Wally in the last chapter: Kid Flash is a dumb name, even if it _is_ iconic. I didn't _want_ to use it in the story, but even if I wanted to, I couldn't have used it as Wally's codename in the story, since he hated the Flash when he started out. Speed is a fairly boring name, but that actually fits, since it sounds like something the straightforward and somewhat unimaginative Wally West would have come up with.

I probably didn't grow past my "teenage angst" until half-way through writing this story, and I definitely channeled it into Wally in spades. Wally, initially, was my repressed anger, the rage I kept inside of me so that I didn't run around sounding like the lunatic Wally was 24/7. After Wally got his body back, and especially once he rejoined the Titans, I had a different challenge in developing his personality into a more well-rounded person without losing the voice he already had. I looked to a lot of inspirations for this, both within myself and to nearly every incarnation of Wally West that has ever existed. I allowed the new Wally to be sarcastic, quick witted, and self-effacing, while still holding some of the old Wally's quick temper, stubbornness, and suspiciousness, but to a much smaller degree. I hope this second version of Wally was more likable, cause I sure enjoyed writing him.

**CYBORG:**

**NAME:** Victor Stone

**AGE:** 17

**OCCUPATION: **Former student. Currently a "reality" television star and crimefighter.

**ABILITIES:** Thanks to his mechanical body, Cyborg's strength, speed, and stamina are many times greater than those of a normal human. Computers and diagnostic sensors installed all over his body allow him to analyze any threat and to access multiple data-banks from long distances.

**SKILLS:** Cyborg is a skilled athlete, winning many medals in High School competition before his untimely accident. He also possesses a Genius level IQ, especially proficient in the fields of technology. He is also the Titan that displays the most common sense.

**WEAPONS: **Cyborg's entire _body_ is a weapon. Like a human swiss-army knife, inventions and weapons are hidden in every nook and cranny of his mechanical exterior, including a flamethrower in his arm, missile pods in his shoulder, a chainsaw in his arm, boosters on the soles of his feet, and concussive cannons hidden in multiple locations. Cyborg's most used weapons are his energy shield—forging energy from his own power supply into solid walls to protect himself and his allies from harm—and the Sonic Cannon hidden in his arm—which turns high-decibel sound waves into debilitating blasts.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **The one change in Cyborg's past was simply that he had the accident at an earlier time. In the comics he joined the Titans shortly after his accident (or, in current continuity, joined the League the DAY he had his accident), but in my version he had his accident at least a year before the beginning of the story. This gave him time to learn to accept himself and decide what to do with his life from now on, and come onto the team in a slightly more mature place than the other Titans.

In a lot of ways this version of Vic was inspired by Geoff Johns' take in his Teen Titans run. Not that Geoff actually used Cyborg much in his run, but he had the idea of making him a mentor and the rock of the Titans, and the few times he actually showed off this side of Vic's personality (Comforting Speedy when she first joined the team, the Titans coming to him for advice even when he was offline for a year), I thought it was interesting and appropriate. I wanted to expand upon this, and it seemed appropriate for Cyborg to be the one person on the show who had himself together.

Of course, Cyborg still had issues. But while the other Titans had massive hero's quests and journeys of self discovery to go through, Vic underwent smaller developments. Getting his confidence back with girls. Learning his boundaries and the boundaries of his teammates. Learning to put more importance on his own life. With Vic I was portraying more of a normal person, a person who may have already underwent the major, revelatory phase of his life, but still has minor life lessons to learn for as long as he lives. Cause all of us, cause nobody ever stops learning or changing.

In terms of appearance, I was originally picturing Vic as the "Cyborg 2.0" version that appeared during the "Titans of Tomorrow" arc during Geoff Johns' run. But while he has the blue hatches of the animated version/Cyborg 2.0, I eventually pictured him more as the Tony Daniels' version prior to the New 52 Reboot.

In both the New Teen Titans and the animated series, Cyborg was mainly a brawler, which I always thought was strange for character with so many possibilities. I recently saw an interview where Marv Wolfman said he wanted to keep Vic close to his athletic roots, and not play him as a Swiss Army Knife. I, however, _did._ Wonder Girl and Starfire both outclass Vic in strength, so I didn't want to have him focus on that same area and look less than them. I focused on Vic's weapons and Vic's computer skills. From the way the Justice League book is using Cyborg in the New 52 reboot (as a walking computer/hacker), I'm glad I wasn't the only one fond of expanding his role in this way.

Like all my characters, I'm sure there are parts of myself in Cyborg, especially the way he would notice things but be too busy to do anything about it, but truthfully, Cyborg was initially based more on the kind of person I'd _like_ to be. Eventually he organically grew into a person in his own right, but unlike most of the other Titans, there wasn't a huge chunk of my personality I was channeling into him. I guess Vic is just the natural outlier of the group. I'd imagine he'd be the first to leave for the Justice League, if not for the fact that he loves the other Titans too much. He wouldn't leave unless Gar and the others were with him.

**BEAST BOY:**

**NAME:** Garfield Logan.

**AGE: **14

**OCCUPATION:** "Reality" television star and crimefighter. Has been a full-time crimefighter most of his life.

**ABILITIES: **Beast Boy possesses the ability to transform into any animal he can bring to mind, including extinct or extraterrestial species. He also has the ability to shapeshift into mythical creatures and even creatures of his own design, but this takes extreme effort and control, and usually leaves Beast Boy physically exhausted as a result.

**SKILLS:** Beast Boy, having spent several years working with the Doom Patrol, has a better understanding of the superhero and supervillain world than the novice Titans. He also has extensive (and constantly growing) knowledge of the animal kingdom.

**WEAPONS:** N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **The big change in Beast Boy's past was that, in-between his stints on the Doom Patrol and on the Titans, he had been homeless, and due to this and the Chief's meddling, he had a very limited education. This didn't end up changing Gar's character as much as I thought it would. In the end, he ended up staying very similar to the character he had always been—when I wrote him, I was basically writing the version of the character from the animated series, and even heard his voice actor from the animated series when I was writing his lines. Of course, he's not _exactly_ like the animated version—adding in Gar's backstory definitely changed him—but still, it was the primary influence in this version of the character.

So yeah, Beast Boy and Starfire ended up being the Titans who changed the least under my pen, and in Gar's case, I think it was just because he's a compelling and versatile enough character in his own right that I didn't need to drastically change him in order to tell a fresh story, and that's not for a lack of trying.

Gar was a hero before the series even began, but he was a kid hero, the junior partner of the Doom Patrol. Perhaps more than any other Titan, his arc was a journey of growing up (which Ben Folds aptly pointed out), developing from a tentative, insecure, goofball kid into a much more self-assured adult. Sure, he still has some growing up to do (he _is_ only 14), and sure, he isn't the ball of boundless confidence Dick is, but he's made great strides. He's forgiven himself for his past, he's learned how powerful he really is, and although he's still a jokester, he's started looking at the bigger picture and asking important questions. Like Donna, Gar has faced a lot of tragedy, but he's grown a lot because of it.

Like I said, when I wrote Gar, I modeled him pretty closely after the version from the animated series, and that goes even to his appearance. My version of Gar, both in costume and physical appearance, looks like the animated version. I prefer the purple-and-black colorscheme to the red-and-white from the comics, especially since so many Titans have red in their color scheme as it is (In the comics, all five of the founding Titans had red as a dominant color in their costumes. That was kind of blinding).

Of all the Titans, Gar is by far the one I identify most with. There wasn't one emotion I was channeling into him (Like with Wally or Raven), but just altogether, he's the Titan I share the most in common with. His sense of humor, his insecurities, his taste in pop culture and entertainment, it's all similar to my own, so in a lot of ways, he was the most natural of all the Titans for me to write. In the last fanfiction I wrote before this one (involving the animated Titans), Beast Boy had a big role, so I told myself I'd try to tone down his usage a little in this one and focus more on the other Titans, but it never happened. I love Gar too much, and he ended up being a viewpoint character a lot more than I originally intended. I'm very happy with that, though. I've got no regrets in regards to how I used Gar, except maybe for not learning more obscure animals to add a little variety to his repertoire.

**STARFIRE:**

**NAME:** Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran.

**AGE: **16 (In Earth years)

**OCCUPATION:** Princess. "Reality" television star and crimefighter. Former slave.

**ABILITIES: **Like all Tamaranians, Starfire's body is a living solar battery. It absorbs sunlight, and uses the stored power to fuel her ability of flight, as well as her great strength (second only to Wonder Girl among the Titans). She also has the ability to instantly learn new languages through skin-contact. _Unlike_ other Tamaranians, Starfire also has the ability to focus her body's stored power into powerful projectile attacks known as "Starbolts", which can be launched from the palms of her hands as well as from her eyes.

**SKILLS:** Starfire was trained by the Warlords of Okaara, powerful extraterrestial warriors, and has extensive knowledge of warfare, battle tactics, and extraterrestial martial arts.

**WEAPONS: **While Starfire is proficient in the use of several traditional Tamaranian weapons, she carries none on her, usually preferring to fight with her Starbolts.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** The big change in Starfire's backstory was the fact that, instead of escaping from the Gordanians on her own, she was sold by the Gordanians to Mr. Jupiter. As I've said, this didn't end up changing her personality or even her plots anywhere near as much as I thought it would, but I guess that's part of the magic of writing. Not everything is in my control, as much as you think it would be. Instead, Starfire's personality ended up being a nice merging of her comic and animated series counterparts. She had the backstory and warrior's spirit and ethical dilemmas of the comic book Starfire, but also the sweetness and fish-out-of-water aspect of the animated version (although I severely toned this down; sometimes, it seemed like the fish-out-of-water aspect was all there _was_ to the animated Starfire).

Unlike the other Titans, Starfire never set out to be a hero. She found herself stranded on Earth, taken in by Mr. Jupiter, and becoming a hero by proxy. That said, there was no great journey for Kory to take to become a proper hero; she had the personality for it from the start. Instead, Kory's journey over the course of the story ended up being one of acclimation, with Starfire struggling to learn and understand and follow the seemingly arbitrary traditions of Earth. And as she did, self-discovery came into play as well, with Kory feeling more at home on Earth and finding it the place she needed to be to be the person she was always _meant_ to be.

That said, I feel a little angry at myself that Starfire's character arc was so understated. Despite all her screentime and getting her own story arc, Starfire still feels like a supporting character many times, and all her storylines seem to hinge on Dick, which I didn't even realize at the time but is a little disturbing in retrospect. I understand why this happened; Starfire is such an outgoing people person that she can't _help_ but to be an amazing supporting player in the other characters' stories. But if I ever write a sequel, I'm going to focus more on writing a more compelling arc focusing on Kory herself.

In terms of appearance, I imagine Starfire almost directly from the comics. While I imagine her hair in the straighter, more modern styles of artists such as Mike McKone, I still see her face with the adorable button nose and soft features of George Perez (as opposed to more angular, modern interpretations.) The only real change to Kory's design was making her Starbolts green, like the animated series. Hey, they match her eyes! Also, in terms of her speaking voice, I imagined it as a slightly more adult version of the animated Starfire's.

When writing Starfire, I poured into her my enthusiasm, my naivety, and my optimism. I don't know if I'm an optimist by nature; I often find myself playing Devil's Advocate, debating myself in my mind until I see both sides of the issue and can't decide which one I actually agree with. So there's a part of me that will purposely choose the optimistic option even if I know that's not the way things are going to turn out, precisely because it's how I _want_ it to turn out.

I feel like Starfire's the same way. A lot of people think her optimism springs from naivety, and certainly that's part of it, but I think that a lot of it is a purposeful decision on Kory's part to see the best in people and situations. It's a stark contrast both to her sister and to Raven; it's also a stark contrast to some other aspects of Kory's personality, such as her rush to execute criminals. I feel like her policy on capital punishment comes more from her upbringing and Tamaranian culture than her personality (which is probably why she has an easier time adjusting to Earth culture than some other Tamaranian's might), but it is still an aspect of her optimism in and of itself; she's hoping that destroying evil is all it takes to protect the innocent. If only it was that simple, Kory.

Anyway, Starfire was always a character I loved, but I don't think I realized exactly how rich she was until I wrote her myself. I will defend her—both my own interpretation and other versions—to the death.

**RAVEN (CHAPTERS 1-24):**

**NAME:** Raven

**AGE:** 18 (Deceased)

**OCCUPATION:** "Reality" television star and crimefighter.

**ABILITIES: **Raven was an empath, capable of sensing and manipulating the emotions of others, as well as healing their wounds by absorbing their pains. She also possessed a powerful "Soul Self", a black, bird-shaped entity that lived deep within her soul. Raven's Soul Self allowed her to possess inanimate objects and control them remotely, as well as to create portals that could teleport herself and others from place to place by shunting them between dimensions. Her Soul Self also greatly amplified her empathic abilities, allowing her to permanently alter the emotions of others or even wipe their mind clean altogether if she so desired. Finally, Raven also had the ability to levitate, capable of reaching great speeds and heights.

**SKILLS: **Raven was a flawless liar and a skilled manipulator.

**WEAPONS: **N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **I suppose it would be simple to say that the change to Raven's backstory was simply "she's evil", and that was the original concept, but the real change here is that Raven was born hundreds of years ago, and has seen far more of human history than her comic counterpart, and lost all faith in humanity as a result. Raven isn't evil for the sake of being evil. She feels no love or gratitude towards her father. She's doing what she thinks is right, no matter how misguided she truly is.

It was fun changing Raven so drastically, rewriting her from the ground up, "making her mine" as one of my reviewers said. I think what works is, no matter that Raven is the villain of the story, no matter that, on some level, she enjoys what she's doing, there's still tragedy to her story. Tragedy in what Raven's been through, in what she feels like she has to do. I can understand why it would be upsetting to see Raven this way (thank God for alternate universes), but I suppose, to me, I find her fascinating. I hope you guys did to.

That said, my original concept for Raven was actually quite drastically different from the version that ended up in the finished story. Originally I thought Raven would be a fatalist. She was told the prophecy of Trigon from her childhood, and believed that nothing could stop it from coming true. And because the world was destined to be destroyed, she never bothered to form bonds with people. Because she was destined to destroy the world, she knew she couldn't die yet, and threw herself into deadly situations. I think I actually wrote much of the first chapter with this interpretation of the character in mind, but during the two months break I took between Chapters 1 and 2 to plot the story out more closely, she ended up developing into the character we all know from the rest of the story, and I think she's all the better for it.

Raven was a character who, from the very beginning of the story, knew exactly what she wanted, and changed very little as the story progressed. As we find out in Chapter 24, her quest was a mission to find something, _anything_ to prove her cynical view of humanity wrong, and while Starfire started to crack her exterior, the Titans were unable to help Raven meet this goal until she was already dead. If all the Titans were undergoing hero's quests over the course of the story, Raven was the hero who failed her test. Fortunately, she got a second chance.

Unlike the other Titans, there isn't one source from the comics or animated series that I based Raven's appearance on. Initially I based her off a piece of fan art (as I mentioned earlier), but as time moved on I picture her more as a dark, living wraith, something terrifying that leaves people wondering if she's even _human_ inside that dark cloak.

This is probably obvious, but Raven was my opportunity to put my cynicism, my feelings of disgust for my fellow human beings, down on paper. Thoughts that I knew were inappropriate or pointless, but feelings I still felt regardless, I could spit out as Raven's thoughts and words. It's pretty liberating, and since Raven's not a character we're supposed to agree with, I never felt like I could lose myself in these thoughts. If anything, Raven helps me see how silly they all are. I don't necessarily think mankind can ever make a great world for us all to live in, but I don't think Raven's philosophy is the way to handle it at all.

**RAVEN (CHAPTERS 26 & 27):**

**NAME:** Raven.

**AGE:** Physically, 13. Mentally, she's only a few hours old.

**OCCUPATION:** "Reality" television star and crimefighter.

**ABILITIES: ** Raven is an empath, capable of sensing and manipulating the emotions of others, as well as healing their wounds by absorbing their pains. She also possesses a powerful "Soul Self", a white, bird-shaped entity that lives deep within her soul. Raven's Soul Self allows her to possess inanimate objects and control them remotely, as well as to create portals that can teleport herself and others from place to place by shunting them between dimensions. Her Soul Self also greatly amplifies her empathic abilities, allowing her to permanently alter the emotions of others or even wipe their mind clean altogether if she so desires. Finally, Raven also has the ability to levitate, capable of reaching great speeds and heights. Although this reborn Raven's abilities are just as strong as the former's (if not _stronger_), due to her inexperience as well as her ethical and moral standpoints, she rarely uses them to their full potential.

**SKILLS:** Being newly "born", Raven has yet to cultivate any unique skills or abilities.

**WEAPONS:** N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This new, reborn Raven is a Tabula Rasa—a blank slate, a newborn baby given the mental capabilities of a 13 year old and a set of distant, secondhand memories. Her hero's quest, her journey of self discovery, they're all in the future, waiting for her to take the next step in her development. So while the rest of the Titans have become comfortable with themselves and their place on the team, Raven's just begun. Good thing she has six fantastic mentors!

It was an interesting challenge introducing and fleshing out a character in only one chapter (the last chapter to boot), and I hope I pulled it off. I'd like to think I did. This new Raven's characterization was partially based off someone new coming into the story, a fresh, unknowing set of eyeballs on a very convoluted story. It was also based off the comic book version of Raven; someone who empathizes with everyone she meets, who feels everyone's pain as her own, and wants nothing more than to take that pain go away. She's the traditional healer, the traditional empath that the previous Raven never was.

As I mentioned in the commentary, this Raven isn't really a reincarnation of the previous; Raven's soul died, and this new Raven is someone else entirely, a new soul born into Raven's body. As such, it's ambiguous as to whether her new life is really a second chance for the old Raven; certainly she'll never know that the Titans even beat her father. But it's absolutely true that this new Raven is a second chance for the Teen Titans. Raven was the Titans' biggest failure; they could neither _stop_ her plan nor _save_ her. But now they have the chance to guide and protect this Raven in the way they never could the old, and in that way, she's a bit of a resolution not only to Raven's arc, but to the Titans' as a group.

In terms of appearance, she's based off the tiny, deaged version of Raven that appeared in the animated series ("The End Parts 2 and 3").

**TERRA:**

**NAME:** Tara Markov

**AGE:** 15 (Deceased)

**OCCUPATION:** Princess of Markovia. Wanderer, and part-time crimefighter.

**ABILITIES:** Terra possessed the ability of terrakinesis, which allowed her to move rock, dirt, and the very ground beneath her feet with only her thoughts.

**SKILLS:** Terra's battle skills were self-taught, but she did contain a vast array of practical, everyday skills learned from her treks across the world. She was adept at cooking, repairing mechanics, and sewing, for example.

**WEAPONS: **While Terra was not trained to fight with weapons, she did carry three or four clods of dirt in her belt, as a last resort if she was cut-off from the ground somehow.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** It felt almost sacrilegious not to cover the most famous, iconic Teen Titans storyline, "The Judas Contract", in my story; but as I said in the commentary, everything that can be done with that story has already been done. The psychotic mole version of Terra no longer packs the same punch without the element of surprise, and the animated series covered the morally conflicted traitor perfectly. But the one part of Terra that I centered in on, the one element that I deemed necessary for any Terra story, is _tragedy_.

So the ending of the Brotherhood story was a tragedy, if on a more personal, star-crossed lover level for Tara and Gar. But I felt like her story wasn't over, just leaving Tara there in Zandia. I got the idea to bring her back, have her join the group, then sacrifice herself in the fight against Jupiter. And then I struggled with myself for months about whether or not to use it in the story. _'Why?'_ I asked myself. _'Why would Tara do that?!'_ It felt right to me, but I just couldn't figure out why—until I realized that Tara had a death wish, a desire to do _anything_ to try to make up for the damage she's caused, even if it means sacrificing her own life. I had known all along Terra felt this way, but it just took a while to put it into words. Still, I debated with myself about whether or not to actually put this in the story. It wasn't that I was afraid to kill off a character—I had already decided to definitely kill off Terry, Jupiter, and Raven by this point. It just felt so cruel.

But in the end, I knew I had to do it. The story of Terra is a story of tragedy, after all.

In terms of both appearance and personality, Terra is based on her animated series counterpart almost completely (the psychotic mole from the comics was of no help to me at all for my interpretation). The only real difference I can think of is that I don't think my Terra would have ever defected to Slade (or to anyone, really). Both Terra's contain the same insecurity, but the animated Terra took it out on the Titans, while mine turned it inwards, reflecting the hatred towards herself. I suppose neither prospect was all that healthy in the long run.

**OMEN:**

**NAME:** Lilith Clay

**AGE: **17

**OCCUPATION:** Former student. Secretary. Part-time crimefighter.

**ABILITIES:** Omen is a telepath, capable of reading and manipulating the thoughts of others, as well as broadcasting her own thoughts to others, and linking minds together to create a mental rapport of sorts. Omen is also precognitive, allowing her to receive visions of the future. However, she possesses no control over this ability—the visions occur randomly and sporadically, and the vision can be anywhere from several minutes into the future to several _decades_. Finally, Omen can also teleport by pulling herself to a mental signature. However, she cannot teleport anybody else with her, or else they will violently explode.

**SKILLS: **Omen has a blackbelt in judo. She's also a skilled secretary.

**WEAPONS:** An air of mystery of Omen's greatest weapon.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Despite having her role in the story planned from the beginning, Lilith ended up becoming a much more important character than I ever expected, largely because of her interactions with the other Titans in the final chapter. As I've mentioned, as much as I tried to give her characterization throughout the entire story, she was still a bit of a plot device, necessary to protect the Titans from Jupiter and to defeat Trigon. So it was a really fun, enjoyable challenge to organically create a personality for Lilith throughout that final chapter, so much so that I was a little sad to let her go.

I'm not exactly sure what Lilith's personality was originally like in the comics (those 70s Teen Titans stories aren't all that readily available); I know she was made into a bit of a Raven-rehash in the 90s, but I wasn't interested in that. The angle I approached with Lilith was that of a "normal girl", or someone entirely disconnected from the superhero world, suddenly thrust into a situation where her conscience would not allow her to walk away, even if it meant becoming involved with something far out of her league. She's mature; she stepped up to the challenge with flying colors.

In terms of appearance, Lilith is largely based off her iconic 70s look—a hip mini-skirt and peace sign earrings. The red color of the skirt is taken from her Omen outfit—the Omen cloak, meanwhile, I imagined exactly as it was drawn in the 90s Jurgens "Teen Titans" series (although, unlike in that series, Omen wasn't meant as a full-time costume for Lilith, but merely a disguise to protect her true identity for as long as possible).

**TITANS EAST—****Teenage heroes aiming for fame, fortune, and the honor of being a true Teen Titan!:**

**COMMENTARY: **Titans East actually went through several incarnations before I decided on the final roster. I knew all along I wanted a B-Team of Titans, because it was too fun of an idea not to use, but I didn't always know what exactly I wanted to use them _for_.

From the start, Flamebird, The Herald, and Bumblebee were a part of the team; I love the characters, and they seem to be an obligatory part of any B-Team of Titans anyway. Terra was the next new addition, because I knew it would be a good way to introduce her to the story. But after that, things got weird.

I next added Mas y Menos (tiny Spanish twin speedsters from the animated series, who are awesome) and Argent (a somewhat obscure Titan from the 90s with nifty plasma abilities similar to a Green Lanterns'), the former because I think the characters are hilarious, and the latter because I think her abilities are super cool. I realized that both of those characters are foreign, and decided that maybe the Titans East would be an international group of teen heroes, and added Red Star, a Russian hero, as the seventh member of the group.

That concept didn't last long. I couldn't figure out what to do with Red Star, and eventually replaced him with Arsenal—who should have been part of the team from the beginning. With Red Star gone, so was the international idea. Argent was the next to go. It wasn't that I couldn't figure out what to do with her; on the contrary, I had a pretty solid personality figured out. The problem was, her story did nothing to further the plots of the Teen Titans, and this story was about them, not about Argent. She wasn't shaping up into a good supporting character, so she was out, replaced with Magenta, who _was_ a good supporting character for Wally.

Mas y Menos were the last to go when I realized that I don't speak Spanish, and didn't feel like trying to fake it. They were replaced by Impulse, who filled the same role better than they could have anyway. By this point the role of Titans East had simply fallen into place, and the rest is history…

**FLAMEBIRD:**

**NAME:** Bette Kane

**AGE:** 16

**OCCUPATION: **Heiress, student, and part time crimefighter.

**ABILITIES:** N/A

**SKILLS: **Bette Kane is a world-champion tennis player, and has received a top-class education from prestigious private schools all her life. When she first debuted as Flamebird, she had very little in the way of combat training, but since then she has become proficient in martial arts and the use of various weapons—enough so to even impress Robin!

**WEAPONS:** Flamebird fights with a wide array of combat weapons, most modeled after Robin's in some way. Her signature weapons are "Flamebirdarangs", boomerangs in the likeness of Flamebird that come with various effects—some are explosive, freeze the target, release sleeping gas, etc. Another weapon unique to Bette's arsenal is the blinding light attack installed into her goggles, as well as tiny one-shot flamethrowers in her gloves.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **It's funny; my use of Flamebird actually follows the character arc Bette took in the comics rather closely, if on a more compressed scale. In the comics, Bette started her super-hero career looking for a way to get close to Dick Grayson, but after being rebuffed by him (in the "Beast Boy" mini by Geoff Johns and Ben Raab), started taking the career more seriously. The main difference is that, while in the mini-series we follow it more from Bette's point of view, in my story we see how her decisions effect Robin—after all, everybody besides the seven main Titans are supporting cast, and they're here to enhance our understanding of the main characters.

As a bit of a cautionary tale for Robin, I tended to play up Bette's more unfortunate qualities, but I think she actually has a lot of _good_ things in common with Dick as well (which we do see more when Titans East reappears in the final storyline). I get the feeling she's a bit of a savant like him, and the scene in Chapter 25 where she's rallying Titans East reminds me a lot of the way Dick took charge of the Titans. I actually like Bette a lot, please never think otherwise.

Of all the characters in this story, I have the least idea where Bette's future will take her. I do believe that she's over her crush on Dick Grayson, at least in the sense of it being a defining motivation in her life (_every_ girl in the DC Universe is _attracted_ to Robin), but other than that, I have no idea whether she'll stick with being a hero full time, or if it's only a hobby, and if she does quit, what she'll do afterwards. I'm interested in seeing what Bette decides to do.

In terms of appearance, Bette is based off her modern comic outfit, the version she started wearing during the "Beast Boy" mini up until the "Flashpoint" reboot. Then again, that probably goes without saying; Flamebird's only had two or three costumes in the last thirty years, largely because she was so rarely used (of course, I've been told that Bette is currently in a coma over in the Batwoman book, so maybe she was better off in limbo…)

**ARSENAL:**

**NAME:** Roy Harper

**AGE:** 17

**OCCUPATION: **DEO Agent, mostly assigned to drug-bust cases, and part-time crimefighter. Formerly Speedy, the sidekick of Green Arrow.

**ABILITIES: **N/A

**SKILLS: **Arsenal is an expert marksman, able to hit a perfect bullseye 99.9% of the time, with _any_ weapon, though he is most handy with a longbow. He has basic training in several forms of self-defense, although he rarely needs to resort to hand-to-hand combat—this is mostly a last-resort measure. Arsenal has also been trained in the Navajo skill of Mo Gi Goon, which allows him to turn almost any object he touches into a projectile weapon. Considering the amount of weapons he _already _has on his person at all times, this ability is rarely used, but still quite effective.

**WEAPONS: **Arsenal's most used weapon is a simple longbow, supplemented by a quiver full of trick arrows, such as explosive arrows, restraint arrows (arrows filled with nets and bolos), smoke-gas arrows, boxing glove arrows, and even traditional arrow-head arrows. Mounted on each of his gloves are mini-crossbows, which can be used to fire his trick arrows, or to fire arrows attached to grapple lines to swing from building to building. Roy is also armed with two laser pistols, capable of firing high-speed beams of light that can instantly melt through metal and which cauterize wounds upon impact. He also carries a glock pistol. Finally, Roy's most extravagant weapon is an energy rifle attached to his belt, which can cause tremendous damage but can only fire once before needing to be recharged.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Roy was an interesting nut to crack. In the comics, he's usually played as lighthearted, goofy, a bit of a rebellious bad-boy (the angsty Roy on the "Young Justice" cartoon is the exception, not the rule); unfortunately, when I got around to writing the Titans East story, I realized that I had inadvertently given Roy's personality to _Robin_.

Because of this, Roy ended up being a character who almost seemed to have dual personalities to me. Around the other members of Titans East, Roy was in charge, the oldest and most experienced member, and he was a pretty stern, serious guy. Around the other Titans he could let his guard down and let his more relaxed personality traits show. The trait that I feel bridges the two versions of Roy is his crush on Donna, his ladies man charisma (purposely meant to be more suave and effective than Dick's), a trait he shows no matter who he's around.

Roy has had a handful of superhero personas to choose from in the comics, but it was never any question for me that he would be "Arsenal" in my story. "Red Arrow" is his Justice League name, the person Roy becomes as an adult when his issues are worked out; my version of Roy, as we see late in the story, is certainly not at that point. (As an aside, I still think changing Roy from Arsenal to Red Arrow was unnecessary, even if I can justify to myself why it happened.). Plus, I like Arsenal's expanded choice of weaponry. Actually, I found myself spending a little too much time with all those weapons, trying to use everything in Roy's arsenal in every fight. Actually, I tend to do that with all my characters, and I'm slowly learning to temper those impulses. It's unnecessary.

In terms of appearance, Roy's costume was based off the uniform he wore in Judd Winick's "Outsiders" series. That said, Roy's physical appearance and frame is closer to the scrawny, scruffy haired version that appeared in Devin Grayson's "Titans" series and her "Arsenal" mini-series (In the "Outsiders", Arsenal looked more like a linebacker on steroids, and that never felt right to me.)

**IMPULSE:**

**NAME:** Bart Allen

**AGE:** 13

**OCCUPATION: **Student, crimefighter.

**ABILITIES: **Impulse has inherited a connection to the Speed Force, allowing him to move at velocities near the speed of light. At the moment his top speed falls just slightly short of the Flash's or Speed's, but this might improve as he grows older. Like most other speedsters, he can also vibrate his molecules through solid objects.

**SKILLS:** Due to being raised in a virtual reality world, Impulse is a highly skilled video game player. Unfortunately, these skills rarely translate into real life.

**WEAPONS:** N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Impulse is a character who is easy to write, but hard to master, and I feel like I fell into that same trap. I'm happy with how he turned out in my story, but I also leaned heavier on the video game references than most Impulse writers, and I felt like I could have mined him for a little more depth (Believe it or not, for all his simple-minded obliviousness, Impulse has more depth than he lets on; anyone who read the original "Young Justice" comic book series can attest to this). This is why I like the moment where Bart tries to comprehend Terra's death so much, it felt really true to character yet revealing at the same time.

That said, Bart isn't a main character, and hell, he isn't really in the story to support another character's storyline; he's here because he's one of my favorite characters and he makes great comic relief, and to that end I think I used him pretty well.

In the comics Bart has an extremely complicated back-story involving time-travel and revived clones and multi-generational rivalries, and to be honest, I'm not sure how that story holds up in my universe, especially with Barry and Iris still alive. I'd probably simplify it to be closer to the back story he was given in Young Justice (the cartoon), but fortunately, it never came up. I also haven't quite decided if Bart lives with Barry or with Max Mercury yet.

In terms of appearance, Bart (as Impulse) had a pretty consistent look throughout his entire comics career. In my descriptions of the character, especially his hair, I was picturing the wonderfully exaggerated work of iconic-Impulse-artist Humberto Ramos, but I also picture a lot of Todd Nauck's streamlined, slick work in the character as well.

**THE HERALD:**

**NAME:** Malcolm Duncan

**AGE:** 15

**OCCUPATION: **Part-time crimefighter. Former gang member.

**ABILITIES:** N/A

**SKILLS:** Although not formally trained in any form of martial arts, the Herald has been in street fights most of his life and is surprisingly cunning in hand-to-hand combat. He's also a skilled musician.

**WEAPONS:** The Herald is armed with the powerful Gabriel Horn. This horn is capable of opening wormholes, able to transport targets anywhere they desire to go, as long as Herald knows where its located. The horn was later outfitted with a sonic cannon similar to the one on Cyborg's arm.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Since Titans East weren't main characters, it freed me up to take more risks with their personalities and stories; I felt even freer with The Herald, a character who never really showed much personality in the comics (at least that I've seen; like I said, those 70s Titans comics aren't easy to find, and that's where Mal's primary time as a Titan took place) and who was a bit of a cipher even in the cartoon.

So I got the chance to make The Herald "unlikable." I didn't necessarily go into this _trying_ to make Mal that way, that aspect of his personality just naturally evolved as I grasped for a personality for Herald beyond the "coolness" of his horn. I put the word "unlikable" in quotes because it's, hopefully, obvious that Mal's prickly demeanor springs from his insecurities and criminal past, so I can still feel sympathy for him.

But like I said, Mal being a part of Titans East gave me the freedom to _keep_ him "unlikable" even as the story progressed. I mean, don't get me wrong, Mal was definitely softening up and opening up a bit by the end, especially after Tara's death, but the thing is, Mal is a super-hero only because it's what Karen wants. He's doing this for her, so I doubt he'll ever feel 100% comfortable with the job.

And I think that's actually pretty interesting.

In terms of appearance, Mal is modeled completely after the animated version of the character, only minus his mask (the hood is enough, especially for a version of the character without a secret identity). Again, this includes his smaller frame; I like the thin, athletic frame Herald has in the Teen Titans animated series more than his bulkier frame on Young Justice or even in the comics. It brings to mind that awesome back-flip/windmill kick Herald used to take out Adonis in "Titans Together", one of my favorite scenes in the entire series.

**BUMBLEBEE:**

**NAME:** Karen Beecher

**AGE:** 16

**OCCUPATION: **STARLabs technician and part-time crimefighter.

**ABILITIES:** N/A

**SKILLS: **Bumblebee possesses a Genius-level IQ, impressive technical prowess, and an insatiable desire to learn about the world around her.

**WEAPONS:** Karen fights with a bumblebee battle-suit of her own design, which enhances her strength to five times that of a normal man. The suit is armed with "stingers"—laser-blasters mounted on both wrists—cybernetic wings allowing flight, and a holographic computer readout in the goggles, which is connected to the STARLabs database. The suit also has the ability to shrink down to the size of an actual bee, while still retaining its full physical strength and blaster output.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **I don't know the comic book incarnation of Bumblebee very well (as I've mentioned, she was mainly present in the 70s era of the Titans, which isn't very easy to get a hold of), so I feel weird saying that this interpretation of the character is based off of her, but it's the truth. She's based off the scientist origin of Bumblebee from the comics, and besides the shrinking, ignores the animated series version almost completely. (Don't get me wrong, I love the animated series version—she's the leader of Titans East, how cool is that?!—but she felt a little redundant on this team for my sake).

The nice thing about the Titans is that they have many strong, diverse female characters. Starfire, Wonder Girl, Raven, Lilith, Terra and Flamebird were all such kickass, take-charge characters in their own right that I felt I had a little room to change things up with the other girls—_especially _since there were more girls on Titans East than guys and again, how cool is that?!—and that's where Bumblebee's personality came in. She's the scientist, she sits back and examines and strategizes and listens, a bit of a wallflower, not charging into battle unless she's absolutely sure there's an advantage to her being there. Hell, I think that's pretty cool in its own right. Besides Cyborg, no other Titan can even _begin_ to keep up with Karen's brains.

Of course, even among the supporting characters that were Titans East, I feel like Karen played a small role, but I guess not every character can be the star. I feel like I said a lot about her with a little space, though, and I guess I hope you guys do too.

In terms of appearance, Bumblebee's costume is based entirely on her comic book suits. I'm not a huge fan of the bug hood, but since Karen's powers came from the suit, especially the shrinking, the hood felt necessary. So, sorry, no little puff pig-tails.

**MAGENTA:**

**NAME:** Frances Kane

**AGE:** 15

**OCCUPATION: **Student and part-time crimefighter.

**ABILITIES: **Magenta possesses the ability to control magnetism, and can take full control of any item made of metal. On occasion, when her abilities begin to overwhelm her, the normally meek Francis has been known to take on a more aggressive, assertive personality. In this state, she can nearly double her normal magnetic output. It is currently unknown how this alternate persona is linked to Magenta's abilities—if it is at all.

**SKILLS: **Beyond the knowledge of a typical high school student, Magenta possesses no special skills.

**WEAPONS:** Magenta's suit is made of a light metal, allowing her to fly when she is wearing it, as well as shape fragments of the suit into last-resort weapons if necessary.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** In a similar vein to Bumblebee, Fran is a much more reserved kind of character, to the point where she almost _lacks_ a personality besides her overwhelming shyness. There's definitely some untouched issues in this poor girl's mind, but god does she love Wally.

My version of Magenta is mostly based off her original appearances in "The New Teen Titans" as Wally's shy, hesitant hometown girlfriend who helps divert his attention from Raven (as opposed to the damaged and broken villainous incarnation who troubled Wally once he became the Flash, although I did borrow a few elements of her criminal identity, such as her split personalities).

I left a lot of information about Fran open-ended: the source of her split-personalities, the future of her relationship with Wally…and talking about any of that here would be major spoilers for if I ever decide to write that sequel—and if I don't, then I guess I'd like you to decide for yourself how the two turn out. The two definitely love each other, but who knows if they can each help the other through their myriads of issues.

In terms of appearance, Magenta's costume is largely based off the metallic one she wore during Geoff Johns' run on the Flash. That said, her hair is loose, not in the metallic casing, and it incorporates some of the hourglass-motif used in Magenta's original costume near the end of Wolfman and Perez's run.

**ALLIES:**

**ROBIN II:**

**NAME:** Tim Drake

**AGE:** 13

**OCCUPATION: **Student, crimefighter, sidekick to the Batman.

**ABILITIES: **N/A

**SKILLS:** Robin is a natural born detective, and has also been trained rigorously in the art—he is already one of the most skilled detectives on the planet, and has the potential to surpass even Batman in the area. He has also been highly trained in martial arts, acrobatics, battle tactics, and the use of his various weapons. While he is not as naturally athletic as Batman or Dick Grayson, he has learned to use his small size to his advantage in a fight quite well.

**WEAPONS:** Besides normal detective tools and his portable crime computer, Robin is armed with an arsenal similar to Batman's or Dick Grayson's: razor-edged weapons known as Batarangs, grapple-launchers, smoke pellets, flash-bang grenades, tiny explosives, and many others that can be varied depending on the situation.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **So from the beginning this Robin was meant to be Tim Drake, but since I was unable to let Dick know his identity (thanks to the reality TV concept), I decided to keep the audience clued-out as well. But hopefully anybody familiar with the comics caught on well before the big reveal.

I wasn't entirely sure of Tim's purpose in the story when I first introduced him. For a while I thought I might have him die—partially due to Dick's negligence—as a part of Dick's development into a responsible hero, but eventually I went another direction. I thought that perhaps I would call Tim "Nightwing" and have him be the contrast to the kind of hero Dick wanted to become, but I pretty quickly realized that Batman filled that role perfectly fine on his own.

So the character ended up becoming someone modeled after Dick himself, sort of playing the role of Dick's Jiminy Cricket, which definitely worked. Personality wise, Tim was based off his early days, when he was a dork and a geek, not a mini-Batman. Tim's observant and intelligent and slightly socially awkward, but he's got an excellent, brother-like rapport with Dick, which was the one singular most important quality of his comic book counterpart that I wanted to incorporate into my version.

Having two Robins was complicated, especially since I wouldn't reveal Tim's secret identity. At the time, it was the only option, _but_ at the time Damian Wayne had yet to become Robin, and Tim had yet to become Red Robin. If I had this story to do over, Tim would have definitely been Red Robin from the start, which would have been a distinct identity for him while still being obviously influenced by Dick. If there's ever a sequel, expect Tim to have changed his name to Red Robin before the story even begins.

Appearance wise, Tim has his original red, green and black costume, and is basically based off the Tom Grummet and Todd Nauck interpretations of the character.

**BATGIRL:**

**NAME:** Cassandra Cain

**AGE:** 15

**OCCUPATION: **Full-time crimefighter.

**ABILITIES:** N/A

**SKILLS:** Batgirl speaks "body language" as her first tongue—and is therefore capable of reading the body language of her opponents, practically predicting their moves. Batgirl is also a very highly trained martial artist, and combining these two skills, Batgirl is practically unbeatable in a fight. She is considered one of the top 5 martial artists on the planet, and even Batman would be leery of picking a fight with her.

**WEAPONS:** Batgirl is equipped with the same standard weapons as Batman and Tim Drake. However, with the exception of Batarangs and Grapple-Launchers, she rarely, if ever, uses them. She prefers to let her fists do the talking.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Batgirl is basically straight out of her very few first appearances in the comics, back when she couldn't really talk. I don't mind Cass being able to string a few sentences together, but if she gets too talky it just ruins the essence of the character for me. I love Cass and think she's layered and nuanced and incredibly badass, and I feel a little bad at mainly using her for comic relief (and for the fun of writing her for a few pages), but I think it's a testament to the character that she works for comic relief even if she's usually a more "badass" character.

**TERRY LONG:**

**AGE:** 19 (deceased)

**OCCUPATION: **Full-time college student, archaeology major. Part-time gofer for MTV.

**SKILLS: **Expert in ancient cultures and relics. Can retrieve coffee in record times.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **In the comics, Terry Long wasn't a very popular character. He was a middle-aged college professor, divorced with a child, who ended up dating and marrying Donna Troy. He looked slightly like Titans author Marv Wolfman, so some of the fandom accused Long of being a self-insert character for Wolfman. Regardless, he wasn't a very popular character, and when Wolfman was on hiatus from the series, other authors took the liberty of divorcing him and Donna and, eventually, killing both he and their child off for good.

I never disliked Terry Long, but I do agree there was something slightly creepy about their relationship, and I don't really think he added very much to the series besides his and Donna being the one completely stable couple throughout the majority of the series. However, with my Donna Troy being a very different character, Cyborg and Sarah ended up becoming my story's one stable couple, and I decided to take Terry in a very different direction.

Making Terry much closer to Donna's age helped with the creepy factor somewhat, but besides that I don't feel like I actually changed Terry's _character_ all that much. He's still soft-spoken and intellectual and a little bit of a weirdo. But his role in the story changed dramatically, and hopefully made him more interesting (definitely more memorable!) as a result. I had a lot of fun carrying out my destructive little plot for Terry Long; for pretty much the entire story I was waiting in eager anticipation to kill off Terry and see my readers' reactions, and you didn't disappoint. Glad I didn't either!

I actually never heard any feedback about when Terry first revealed he was part of Jupiter's plan, which did surprise me a little though.

**IRIS WEST-ALLEN:**

**AGE:** 33

**OCCUPATION: **Investigative reporter.

**SKILLS: **Iris is a skilled reporter and writer.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Iris Allen is Wally's best friend. She was the only person to ever really encourage Wally, and though it sometimes frustrates her to be Wally's only source of support, she knows it's the right thing to do and loves Wally enough to be completely selfless about it. She grew up with Wally's father and knows how hard he can be to deal with, after all.

Iris was really the only adult mentor/parental figure that played a prominent role in the Titans' everyday operations, so it wasn't hard to use her as an exemplary parental role model without differentiating her from the other mentors. Her use of the nickname "kiddo" and general personality are straight from the comics; there wasn't much I needed to change about Iris—at least pertaining to her relationship with Wally—despite all the changes Wally faced himself. Mark Waid painted that relationship pretty excellently himself; all I had to do was channel it.

**SARAH SIMMS:**

**AGE:** 20

**OCCUPATION: **College student.

**SKILLS: **Excellent with children, expert at pulling off all-night study sessions.

**WEAPONS: **Sarah always has mace on her person, and isn't afraid to use it, even on aliens and monsters.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **While I tried to keep Sarah recognizable with her comic counterpart (working with disadvantaged children, her appearance, etc.), I also wanted to spice up the character, especially since I always thought her likable but a little bland back in the original stories. I played her up a lot differently than some of my female characters; if anything, Sarah is closer to a more dignified Robin, sarcastic and occasionally foul-mouthed and a very sexual being.

In the original comics Sarah and Vic were a bit of "will they or won't they" type of pairing that eventually ended up in a "won't" (and in the alternate universe of "Titans: Games" ended in her death); but since the one stable comics Titans couple (Donna and Terry) ended so tragically in my story, Vic and Sarah became the "stable" couple in the series instead. There's a lot I like about their relationship; how Sarah wears the pants in the relationship and Vic's totally fine with it, how they both bring stability and relief to each other…I could write this pairing forever.

Sarah is an interesting character to me because I ended up giving her a lot of past and backstory I barely touched; her past troubled relationships, her eccentric father and a brother who seems to be into everything…she's cool. I'm glad she turned out so well.

**MATTHEW LOGAN:**

**AGE:** 19

**OCCUPATION: **Matt Logan is not sure what "occupation" means.

**SKILLS:** Beer-pong champion.

**WEAPONS:** Body-odor.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Matt Logan is an actual character from the comics, where he served nearly the exact same function as my version (Gar's slacker West Coast cousin, almost too pathetic to exist) and really only appeared in the 2000s "Beast Boy" mini and a "Titans West" one-shot that was meant to pan out into an ongoing series but never quite meshed. I think I made my version a little younger and a little more rambunctious (comics-Matt rarely left the house, playing video games all day, while mine is a bit more of a village idiot always getting into trouble), but for the most part I played him exactly the same.

I felt like it was a shame to waste a character who, while being a little one-note, was very funny, and I'm glad I incorporated him into the story, because it's not only nice for Gar to have some living family to interact with, but also because Gar's attitude towards Matt helps show his growth as a character across the series. In the beginning Gar looked up to Matt so hard, and by the end, while he still loved Matt, it was obvious that he realized just exactly what kind of person Matt is.

I know Matt could be unlikable and I can't exactly disagree (I love Matt, but part of that is because I love to laugh at him), but I think he had a very specific role to fill and did it well. To quote a Marvel character (and Matt's partial namesake): "I'm the best at what I do, and what I do isn't very pretty."

**THE JUSTICE LEAGUE:**

**SUPERMAN:**

**NAME:** Clark Kent

**AGE:** 34

**OCCUPATION: **Reporter for the "Daily Planet" and full-time crimefighter.

**ABILITIES:** Superman's body is a yellow-sun battery, absorbing sunlight and using it to fuel his many extraordinary powers, including flight, super-speed (beaten only by the Flash and his relatives), invulnerability, and super-strength. In fact, Superman is possibly the strongest being on the planet in terms of raw strength, given competition only by Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, and one or two other top-tier heroes. He also possesses super-senses, including hearing capable of picking up on sounds several planets away, the ability to see light on every wavelength, x-ray vision, heat vision, and a lung capacity allowing him to create hurricane force gusts and freezing gales with his breath.

**SKILLS:** Clark Kent is a trained investigative journalist, lending Superman fairly useful detective and deductive skills in battle (although, much to his dismay, he is often shown up by Batman in this area.) While many of his opponents and even some fans simply think him a muscle-headed brawler, Superman is also trained in the martial arts, although, considering his raw strength alone, he rarely needs to use them to win a fight.

**WEAPONS: **N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **I feel like Superman is an inspiration, and in this story I played him as exactly that, someone good and larger than life (I tried to humanize him too with some of the reporter stuff, but he's a supporting character, so I don't mind playing him as an icon for this particular story). I don't think there's anything wrong with the big blue Boy Scout image he has. Supes is certainly the role model Robin needed but never realized, and in a way, is the role model for the entire Justice League and super heroes at large. I hope I did a good job putting this on paper, I like the way he came across but it's far too easy for Superman to slip from iconic to corny.

**BATMAN:**

**NAME:** Bruce Wayne

**AGE:** 33

**OCCUPATION: **Billionaire playboy. CEO of Wayne Enterprises. Full-time crimefighter.

**ABILITIES:** While Batman possesses no metahuman abilities, he is driven by an almost supernatural level of dedication, sometime edging into obsession, which allows him to pull off nearly-impossible feats.

**SKILLS: **Batman has traveled around the world, training and mastering every style of martial arts, escape artistry, forensics and detective skills, acrobatics, and numerous other skills essential to crimefighting. If Batman doesn't yet possess a certain skill, one can be certain that he is working diligently to make sure that this will soon no longer be the case.

**WEAPONS:** Batman fights with Batarangs, grappling launchers, smoke pellets, mini-explosives, flash-bang grenades, a remote computer, and numerous other weapons that can be exchanged depending upon the situation at hand. Batman also owns multiple vehicles, such as the Batmobile and the Batwing, each armed to the teeth and docked in his base of operations, the cave, deep under Wayne Manor. However, Batman's most essential weapon—and also his most underlooked—is the billions of dollars needed to fund and maintain his crimefighting empire.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **I admit it, I committed the cardinal Batman sin of writing him as a complete dick; I hate it when this is all the depth comic writers give him, yet I feel like I played into this too much myself, especially in the early chapters. I know why I did it—because he's an antagonistic figure for Robin but also someone he secretly emulated, so it was a bit of a let-down when he met him—but I'm still a little sore with myself for not making ol Bats a little more likable.

I do hope that I added enough depth and motive behind Bats' behavior to make it passible though. I think that part of his prickly exterior—at least in this situation—is his attitude towards Dick Grayson. Batman knows a lot about Dick that nobody else knows, and I think that he can't help but to look at Dick and think of what might have been. I think Batman and Bruce both looked at Dick as a means of salvation, and were disappointed to not be able to help the boy more—and then he shows up as this extremely talented but unfocused crime fighter and I can imagine while Batman might become antagonistic.

So I think Batman's attitude is at least understandable for this particular story, but I wish I had made him a little more open and well-rounded. Of all the characters to not have a natural knack to write, I wish it wasn't Batman.

**WONDER WOMAN:**

**NAME:** Diana of Themyscara

**AGE:** Immortal (lost count)

**OCCUPATION: **Princess. Ambassador of the Amazons. Full-time superhero.

**ABILITIES: **As a baby, Diana was blessed by the Gods. Demeter granted her super strength, endurance and stamina. Aphrodite blessed her with great beauty and a loving heart. Athena grated her wisdom, intelligence, and military prowess. Artemis granted her enhanced senses and an empathic connection with animals. Hestia blessed her with a sisterhood with fire, granting her immunity to fire of all sorts and the ability to command the fires of truth by channeling them through her lasso. Hermes granted her super-speed and the ability of flight.

**SKILLS:** Besides her keen tactical mind, Diana is also an incredibly gifted fighter, trained in numerous manners of fighting styles, both armed and unarmed. She's also a talented diplomat.

**WEAPONS: **Wonder Woman's bracelets are unbreakable, capable of deflecting attacks of almost any variety. Her tiara is razor sharp and will return to her if thrown, like a boomerang. Her lasso is unbreakable, and channels the fires of truth, forcing anyone bound in it to speak only the truth. Diana also sometimes wields a sword so sharp it cuts down to the atoms, a shield, and other more simplistic Amazonian weapons and armors.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **As a character, Wonder Woman is often called too perfect or accused of trying to be perfect, so for her younger sister to feel insecure in comparison seemed like the ideal way to use her. I wish I could have done a little more with Diana and Donna's relationship, but I like what we did get to see of it, and what we did get to see of Diana as well: someone honest but not blunt, wise and strong and cunning…I like Wonder Woman a lot, and though I don't always follow her book due to a lack of interest in the mythology aspect, I wish more writers had a good grasp on her character.

**THE FLASH:**

**NAME:** Barry Allen

**AGE:** 32

**OCCUPATION: **Forensic scientist for Keystone City Police. Full-time crimefighter.

**ABILITIES: **The Flash has been chosen by the Speed Force to be one of its avatars, and thus shares a connection to its power allowing him to run at speeds approaching the speed of light as well as vibrate his molecules through solid objects. Barry is one of the few speedsters who has run into the Speed Force and made it back alive.

**SKILLS: **Barry is a skilled scientist, and his knowledge aids him in both of his jobs.

**WEAPONS:** N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **I tried to play Barry almost exactly the same way he was played in the comics: someone straight-laced and possibly a little boring, but very caring, patient, loving, and possibly even a little saint-like, and someone absolutely adored by his city. Although he didn't grow as a character really, I do like the relationship that eventually developed between Barry and Wally, especially since it was absolutely painful to write them at odds at the beginning of the story.

**GREEN LANTERN:**

**NAME:** Kyle Rayner

**AGE:** 20

**OCCUPATION: **Freelance artist. Full-time crimefighter.

**ABILITIES: **N/A

**SKILLS: **A skilled artist, Kyle can draw anything he can imagine and do it quickly, both skills coming in quite handy when wielding his Green Lantern ring.

**WEAPONS: **Kyle is armed with a Green Lantern ring. Powered by the green energy of will contained in the Guardians' Central Battery on Oa, the ring is powered by Kyle's will and can create solid light constructs of anything Kyle can imagine.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **I think Kyle loved Donna Troy very much, and I don't think he ever saw her as a trophy, even if that's essentially what she might have ended up being to him. Kyle's intentions (to be a good boyfriend, a good superhero, and a good Green Lantern) and reality (a girlfriend who ended up feeling neglected and misunderstood) didn't always go hand-in-hand, but Kyle's still young and still sometimes only sees what he wants to see.

Kyle is my favorite Green Lantern believe it or not, so I'm a little sorry I put him in such an antagonistic role in this story. I love that I got to showcase his imagination, but I also showcased his crankiness and ability to hold a grudge. Those are both definitely aspects of his character, but I wish they hadn't been the defining elements of him in this story. That said I think he and Donna had a very interesting dynamic and story and I'm very happy I used him. It was also a lot of fun coming up with his constructs!

**HAWKGIRL:**

**NAME:** Shayera Hol

**AGE:** 28

**OCCUPATION: **Former Thanagarian Police Officer/Soldier. Full-time crimefighter.

**ABILITIES: **Like all Thanagarians, Shayera's strength and stamina are much greater than a typical humans', and her massive organic wings allow her to fly with great speed and agility.

**SKILLS: **Expert tracker, keen tactical mind, talented pilot.

**WEAPONS: **Hawkgirl is a master of numerous weapons, but her most used is her Nth metal mace, a weapon capable of administering an electric charge and disrupting the flow of various energies, including magic.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Hawkgirl is based completely on the version that appeared on the "Justice League" and "Justice League Unlimited" television series, with the same Thanagarian background and design (though, as I've said, I'm as of yet undecided as to whether or not Starcrossed will happen in this continuity). I think I ended up making my Hawkgirl a little angrier than she should have been; it was like her default setting, whereas the animated Hawkgirl has a lot more humor and sass to her, even if it was all balled up in her aggressiveness and impulsiveness. Still, Hawkgirl handily pulled off what I needed her for, though I do wish I had been able to throw in a sparring session between her and Starfire at some point (like they had promised to do back in Chapter 5).

**ANIMAL MAN:**

**NAME:** Buddy Baker

**AGE:** 35

**OCCUPATION: **Former actor; animals' acts activist and part-time crimefighter.

**ABILITIES: **Buddy was granted (by little yellow aliens) a connection to the Earth's morphogenic field, allowing him to siphon and use the abilities of any animal found on Earth.

**SKILLS: **Buddy has an extensive knowledge of the animal kingdom, and has trained as an actor as well.

**WEAPONS: **N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **I think I went way too heavy on the metatextual, breaking the fourth wall stuff with Animal Man when he was first introduced, but I still think Buddy was a fun character to have interact with Beast Boy. I don't necessarily think that Buddy brought out many new facets in Gar, which is why I didn't end up using him much, but I do think it was nice for Gar to find somebody that he not only vibed with so well, but who made him feel like part of a family again.

As for Buddy himself, there haven't been many different interpretations of the characters in the comics. He's based off the Grant Morrison version mostly, with his pre-reboot costume with the leather jacket.

**ZATANNA:**

**NAME:** Zatanna Zatara

**AGE:** 26

**OCCUPATION: **Stage magician and part-time crimefighter.

**ABILITIES: **Zatanna has inherited a magical connection from her father that grants her massive magical power which she can channel to do practically anything, as long as her spell is spoken backwards.

**SKILLS: **Zatanna can almost instantly figure out how to say any word or phrase backwards, and is also skilled at non-magic stage illusions.

**WEAPONS: **She is armed only with her magic wand, which is used only to focus her power.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Zatanna was always so busy fighting, providing exposition or throwing out spells that I barely got a chance to characterize her, but I _tried_ to make her fun and spunky, and I think I succeeded in that when she actually got a chance to be herself. I especially enjoyed letting her throw in a few fun digs at Batman, whom she has known for half her life. Still, much like Lilith, Zatanna was much more important because of what she can actually do, and she was incredibly useful in this respect. Still, in both my work and in the comics, I'd love to see Zatanna given more characterization and not just brought in to mindwipe someone or something. I never got a chance to read it, but I hope her recent solo series was able to do that some.

**MARTIAN MANHUNTER:**

**NAME:** J'onn J'onzz

**AGE:** 547 (In Earth years)

**OCCUPATION: **Police detective (in the civilian guise of John Jones), full time crime-fighter.

**ABILITIES: **J'onn is blessed with super strength, stamina, and speed. He has one of the most powerful telepathic minds on the planet. He can shapeshift, changing his appearance to disguises both human and monstrous. He can also shift his density, becoming hard and impenetrable or becoming so light that he is completely intangible.

**SKILLS: **J'onn is an expert detective, having trained in the art both on Earth and on Mars as a Manhunter. Having lived for hundreds of years, he has also learned numerous miscellaneous skills that have a variety of everyday uses.

**WEAPONS: **N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **This version of J'onn is based on the animated version from "Justice League" and "Justice League Unlimited", though now I wish I would have based him more off the "Young Justice" version (if only for his more modest costume as well as invisibility and telekinesis). I had fun making him the stern, taciturn voice of authority among the League; he came across exactly the way I wanted to on the page, which is always a great experience.

**MR. TERRIFIC:**

**NAME:** Michael Holt

**AGE:** 30

**OCCUPATION: **CEO of Holt Industries and full-time crime fighter.

**ABILITIES: **N/A

**SKILLS: **Holt is a genius in multiple fields both scientific and technological, holds blackbelts in nearly every form of martial arts, and is an Olympic level athlete.

**WEAPONS: **Terrific's suit makes him invisible to all forms of technology, and his T-Spheres can be used as weapons (both physical and projectile) or to interface with various technologies.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **I only got to use Terrific once, on the Watchtower, but he was a fun character to write. It's always hard to write characters smarter than yourself, and Terrific is one of the smartest, but for his one scene I don't think I made myself _or_ Terrific look too stupid. He has a similar role in my Justice League as he did on the cartoon, often manning the Watchtower's controls and assigning missions.

**ORACLE:**

**NAME:** Barbara Gordon

**AGE:** 19

**OCCUPATION: **College student and digital crime-fighter.

**ABILITIES: **N/A

**SKILLS: **Oracle has a photographic memory, and is a top-level hacker and a computer and electronics expert.

**WEAPONS: **Oracle's state-of-the-art computers and arrays make her a veritable force to be reckoned with on the online world. Her wheelchair is outfitted with tasers and sleeping-gas dispensers in case of a physical scuffle.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** As I mentioned, my changes to Oracle were largely because I wanted Cassandra to be the first Batgirl; because Barbara could never walk and was never Batgirl, she's also lost a lot of the physical aspect of her character, requiring her wheelchair to be outfitted with weapons in case of a physical confrontation.

I still want to keep the essence of Barbara the same though, in that she became a crimefighter on her own because she was inspired by her father and by Batman and because she thought it was the right thing to do. She just skipped straight to Oracle.

Oracle's role in this story is interesting because she's mentioned several times, and even interacts with characters "on screen", but never once puts in an appearance herself. I actually think this is pretty cool, and fits a superhacker such as Oracle.

**GREEN ARROW:**

**NAME:** Oliver Queen

**AGE:** 36

**OCCUPATION: **Former CEO of Queen Industries. Former Mayor of Star City. Full-time crimefighter.

**ABILITIES: **N/A

**SKILLS: **Queen is one of the best archers on the planet, able to hit practically any target he chooses. He's also well trained in self defense and martial arts, though he's nowhere as proficient in it as most of the League and mainly relies on it as a last resort only.

**WEAPONS: **Queen is armed with a simple longbow and a full quiver of interchangeable trick arrows. His arrows range from the average pointed arrows to explosive arrows, sleeping gas arrows, boxing glove arrows, taser arrows, and whatever else fits the situation that Queen can think of.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Green Arrow's early role in the story is very indicative of the era where I started writing it; all the references to Arrow being a mayor and his grudge with Deathstroke come straight from Judd Winick's run directly after One Year Later. I think they did a lot to flesh out the story's world, flesh out Deathstroke's backstory, and to help make Roy's introduction less jarring, but I don't remember if I ever actually planned to have Arrow appear in the story. It was kind of something I decided for sure as I was writing the last chapter, and with all the build-up, I think it was the right decision.

Roy and Ollie's relationship was one of the few, perhaps the only, loose thread I didn't resolve at the end of the story, and I feel bad about that, but I'm sure the two will make up some day, as long as Ollie actually mans up and puts his feelings out there.

**ENEMIES:**

**DR. LIGHT:**

**NAME:** Arthur Light

**AGE:** 39

**OCCUPATION: **Former scientist. Full-time supervillain/mercenary.

**ABILITIES: **N/A

**SKILLS:** At one time, Light was a skilled, if entirely unscrupulous, scientist.

**WEAPONS: **Light's suit allows him to create and manipulate light in all its forms—although he mainly created destructive laser blasts—as well as to fly and levitate.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **In the comics Dr. Light came in two flavors: the joke-villain from the New Teen Titans who neared Team Rocket levels of incompetence, and the smart, powerful, and extremely twisted rapist from Identity Crisis onward. I…I'm not a huge fan of either interpretation completely on its own, and basically merged the two together in my story. If anything, mine resembles the animated series' version of Light more than the comics version.

My Light is still a bit of a joke of a villain, a moron, but he's competent enough to be a dangerous threat (I even let him keep some of his more advanced abilities from Geoff's Titans stories like manipulating Kory's Starbolts and Donna's lightning). This way he could serve his limited purpose in my story while still being more than the caricature he was in the comic—cause, face it, either way he was a caricature.

(I am aware that Light was used in some comics I haven't read such as Suicide Squad, where I bet he was fleshed out more, but I'm really only just basing him off my limited reading of him. I wouldn't mind seeing him more fleshed out! But I also cheered when The Spectre finally put him out of his misery)

**THE GORDANIANS:**

**OCCUPATION:** Interplanetary conquerors.

**ABILITIES:** The Gordanians as a people are blessed with massive strength, a scaled exterior that provides armor-like protection, extensive endurance and rapid recovery time.

**SKILLS:** Gordanians are trained from birth in the arts of warfare. Any single Gordanian is a skilled killing machine—an army is nearly unstoppable.

**WEAPONS:** Gordanian soldiers are equipped with reinforced armor and tridents capable of firing powerful energy blasts. As a race, Gordanians have pillaged unfathomable amounts of advanced technology from neighboring planets, including practically impenetrable warships equipped with interstellar warp drives.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** The Gordanians, in my story, were more of an appetizer to set the stage for Blackfire's arrival. Rereading the chapter where they confront the Titans, I think I may have made them almost too minor of a threat, at least in terms of destructive potential. But what I like about the Gordanians and the threat they present is that they're _tenacious_—If you knock them down, they're just going to keep getting back up over and over again until you finally finish them off for good. I can see how millions and millions of these buggers can overrun a planet.

**BLACKFIRE:**

**NAME:** Princess Komand'r of Tamaran.

**AGE:** 17 (in Earth years)

**OCCUPATION: **Former princess (abdicated the throne); current interplanetary terrorist.

**ABILITIES: **Like all Tamaranians, Komand'r's body is a living solar battery, absorbing sunlight and using it to fuel her great strength. Unfortunately, due to a genetic defect, Komand'r can _not_ fly as other Tamaranians do. She also has the ability to instantly learn new languages through skin-contact. _Unlike_ other Tamaranians, Komand'r also has the ability to focus her body's stored sunlight into powerful projectile attacks known as "Blackbolts." Her Blackbolts can be released from her hands with violent force, or contained close around her body to create a protective field that can act as a shield or be used to propel her into flight. Komand'r can also remotely control her Blackbolts, directing their flight or molding them into unusual shapes.

**SKILLS:** Blackfire was trained by the Warlords of Okaara, powerful extraterrestrial warriors, and has extensive knowledge of warfare, battle tactics, and extraterrestrial martial arts. She's also a flawless liar, actor, and manipulator.

**WEAPONS:** While Blackfire is proficient in the use of several traditional Tamaranian weapons, she carries none on her, usually preferring to fight with her Blackbolts.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **I definitely think that Komand'r is one of the more complex and interesting villains that I introduced. There's a lot of contradictions to her, like the way she takes out her own self-loathing and the abuse she received from the Tamaranians on her sister, probably the only person who ever loved Komand'r unconditionally.

Most of what I wanted to say about Komand'r I already covered in the commentary, but I did want to comment on the fact that she was much more fluent in English than Kory was, using contractions and such. Yeah, I was implying that she had been to Earth at some point prior to this in her interstellar crime spree, but in retrospect I'm not really sure why she was, since she wasn't the one who sold Kory to Jupiter. I mostly wanted Komand'r to speak more sophisticated than Kory as a character beat and came up with a reason on the fly.

**THE BROTHERHOOD OF EVIL:**

**THE BRAIN:**

**NAME:** Unknown

**AGE:** Unknown

**OCCUPATION: **Former scientist. Full-time supervillain/terrorist.

**ABILITIES: **Genius level IQ.

**SKILLS: **The Brain is a scientific and technological genius and a strategic mastermind. He also knows multiple languages.

**WEAPONS: **The Brain is encased within a robotic shell made of unique, resilient plastic-like material. Besides the computers and sensors used for strategizing, gathering information and performing his experiments, his shell is equipped with multiple weapons systems and integrated with the weapons systems of his lair as well.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **I was mainly writing the Brain with the digitalized computer voice from the Animated Series in mind. Other than that I tried to write him with his normal comics characterization, cold and calculating but with a bit of love and glee mainly directed towards Mallah or his thoughts of revenge.

The one real change I wanted to make to the Brain was to give his casing some weapons so he can fight back. Even if he _is _surrounded by his hired thugs, it doesn't make sense to me that he wouldn't fight back. It isn't logical. And while I think his fight with Donna and Roy was a bit of a mess, I am really glad I did it.

I also find it interesting that, while the Brain is the Brotherhood's leader, he was not the main antagonist of this arc (that would be Rouge).

**MONSEIUR MALLAH:**

**AGE:** 12

**OCCUPATION: **Full-time supervillain/terrorist.

**ABILITIES: **Besides his typical simian strength, Mallah's intelligence has been enhanced to make him far more intelligent than even the average human.

**SKILLS: **Mallah is a talented scientist and poet. Knows multiple languages.

**WEAPONS: **Mallah is trained in many weapons, loves a gattling gun, and is equipped with a portable force field.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **I don't have much to say about Mallah. I like his interaction with Starfire, but didn't get a chance to do much with him and the Brain, which is kind of the point of the character. I did know that a normal gorilla, no matter how strong, wouldn't be much of a physical threat against the Titans, which is where the Force Field came in.

**MADAME ROUGE:**

**NAME:** Laura De Mille

**AGE:** 33 (Deceased)

**OCCUPATION: **Former actor. Full-time supervillain/terrorist.

**ABILITIES:** Rouge has been granted complete bodily elasticity, allowing her to stretch and contort herself to great lengths and rendering her impervious to most forms of damage (besides heat and electricity). She can also shift her appearance to resemble anyone she can imagine.

**SKILLS: **De Mille is a skilled actress and manipulator. She was also bi-lingual.

**WEAPONS: **N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **The Animated Series did an excellent job of setting Rouge up as an uberly powerful, scary, and competent villain, and I'm eternally grateful for that, because I don't know if I could ever have envisioned Rouge's true menace based only on the noodly-armed actress from the comics. If anything, Rouge is almost so powerful that it seems strange that Beast Boy could beat her so badly that he ended up accidentally _killing _her—but I think that's part of the point. The extent of Gar's latent power was so shocking exactly because it was used against someone as powerful as Rouge.

As deadly and dangerous as Rouge was, I feel bad for her, because it's obvious that her sanity snapped long ago after her mind was manipulated by Caulder and the Brain. But I don't know what could have possibly been done with her, as no prison could hold her and I doubt her sanity could have ever been regained after such serious physical and mental trauma. I'm not saying "oh they should have definitely killed her" but in the end maybe it was for the best that Rouge was put out of her misery before she killed anyone else.

**PLASMUS:**

**NAME:** Unknown.

**AGE:** 25

**OCCUPATION: **Full-time supervillain/terrorist.

**ABILITIES: **Plasmus has been transformed into a living pile of toxic protoplasm and has the ability to sear through anything he touches, reducing them to ashes. He is able to reform his body after attack, rendering him practically unkillable.

**SKILLS: **Bi-lingual.

**WEAPONS: **N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **I already mentioned in the commentary where Plasmus' racist tendencies came from (a throwaway line from the comics that I expanded to make him a more personal threat to Cyborg and Herald), and other than that there wasn't much else to the character. He's obviously based on the comics interpretation of the character, not the cartoon's (who was poor man who transformed into a mindless monster whenever he was awake), mainly because it gave him some agency and personality. I did add a bit of the cartoon Plasmus' expanded abilities, though, making him much more powerful and dangerous.

**WARP:**

**NAME:** Unknown.

**AGE:** 37

**OCCUPATION: **Full-time supervillain/terrorist.

**ABILITIES: **N/A

**SKILLS: **Bi-lingual.

**WEAPONS: **Warp's suit allows him to create portals, teleporting himself and others anywhere, as long as Warp knows where it's located.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **I believe that Warp's interpretation in this story was also based on a throwaway line in "The New Teen Titans" where he was slightly horrified to be taking such drastic action against _children_—I expanded this into him being a family man who operated with the Brotherhood simply to support his family. Raven had a point, though—Warp's family definitely doesn't live in squalor, and he's no-doubt made enough money at this point to for his family to live off for the rest of their lives, so if he's still operating with the Brotherhood, it's because he _wants_ to.

Still, I enjoy the morality questions what Warp's role in the Brotherhood raises (I discuss this more in the Commentary). Do his reasons for joining make him better than the rest of the Brotherhood, or worse? It's interesting stuff. I didn't get to do as much as I thought I could with Warp, but I think his character added more layers to the somewhat one-note Brotherhood and I'm happy I included him the way I did.

**PHOBIA:**

**NAME:** Unknown.

**AGE:** 29

**OCCUPATION: **Former model/heiress. Full time supervillain/terrorist.

**ABILITIES: **Phobia can reach into the mind of anyone create visions of their worst fears.

**SKILLS: **Amateur psychologist.

**WEAPONS: **N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Although I tried to give Phobia a little personality through her elegant, educated speech, she's always been a character who is mostly used for her power, and my story was no exception. I don't know if it worked so well in my case, since Phobia's powers are best seen on the page in picture form, and I lacked that advantage. I still tried to make sure she came across as one of the most powerful, dangerous members of the Brotherhood, capable of incapacitating half of the team—including their most powerful members—all at once, and in that respect at least I think she worked.

**HOUNGAN:**

**NAME:** Unknown.

**AGE:** 27

**OCCUPATION: **Former scientist. Full-time supervillain/terrorist.

**ABILITIES: **Genius level IQ.

**SKILLS: **Houngan is a technological whiz, especially at integrating DNA with technology.

**WEAPONS: **His mechanized fetishes allow him to control and inflict pain upon anyone whose DNA he uploads into them.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Houngan was always a really silly character, in my opinion. His stripperiffic costume was the silliest aspect of him, so I made sure to imply that he wore a much less revealing version of the outfit, but I also thought his gimmick of mixing voodoo magic and technology was a little silly. Why not just make it one or the other? I went for technology just because it was something I was a little more familiar with. I still think Houngan just standing around jamming things into dolls looks a little silly, but it's not really as distracting without those other elements in play, at least in my opinion. He's still not much of a one-on-one fighter, but I guess that fits the seeming theme of the Brotherhood's abilities being more suited for quick incapacitation than long battles (I'd say Phobia, Warp, and to a lesser extent Plasmus all share this description too).

**GOLDILOCKS:**

**NAME:** Unknown.

**AGE:** 16

**OCCUPATION: **Full-time supervillain/terrorist.

**ABILITIES: **Goldilocks has the ability to completely control her hair, allowing her to move it like limbs, and to grow or shorten it on command.

**SKILLS: **N/A

**WEAPONS: **N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Goldilocks is a relatively new character who has only appeared once or twice, but I liked the concept of this frilly little girl running around calling her opponents cute and squeezing while attacking them with her hair. I don't know if I ever described the actions she took with her hair as well as I wanted to (I've been told her battle with Robin and Flamebird is a little hard to follow) but her personality actually worked out better than I ever expected, especially since I probably used her more that one chapter than she was _ever_ used in the comics. She came out a little twisted and a little pathetic and very dangerous and I love it. I'd love to see what happened to her to screw up her poor little brain so much.

**BROTHER BLOOD:**

**NAME:** Professor Sebastian

**AGE:** 50

**OCCUPATION: **College professor turned supervillain.

**ABILITIES:** N/A

**SKILLS: **Trained in teaching and psychology.

**WEAPONS: **Sebastian was armed with the Brother Blood cowl, which absorbs power from the people loyal to its wearer. It allows him to focus this energy into powerful projectile/energy attacks, or to use it to manipulate peoples' will, gaining their loyalty and further increasing his power. The Cowl also allows him to absorb the special abilities of those under its influence (such as superpowers), and to grant wishes to them as well, though they are likely temporary measures. The Blood Cowl is an extremely dangerous weapon, and the more power it absorbs, the more complex, dangerous, and powerful its abilities become.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Sebastian is interesting to me because he's not _the_ Brother Blood—he's not the first, he's not the last, and he's probably not even the most dangerous. He's just a rather pathetic guy who let life pass him by and suddenly found this amazing weapon and got carried away by a lust for power, and even that basically destroyed the rest of his life. He can't catch a break. In terms of personality, I played him like a pathetic old codger, the eccentric old college professor who knows a lot but can't remember to put his own glasses on in the morning. He's savvier than he lets on, manipulating the Titans and his students effortlessly, but he dresses in styles thirty years out of date and throws in malapropisms and metaphors that have never once made a lick of sense to anyone. It was fun making someone so dangerous so _funny_.

I think it's funny that his personality is so similar to Jupiter's—I don't know if that started out being intentional or not, but now I definitely believe that the lure of the Blood Cowl definitely draws in a certain kind of individual. That said, I do think that Sebastian is at least a _slightly_ better person than Jupiter was. I think Sebastian had reached a low point and was filled with visions of petty revenge when he found the Cowl, but who knows if he would have actually went through with any of his plans had he not been filled with the Cowl's power and influence. Probably not. His motivation was low even if his aspirations were high. Jupiter, however, did unforgivable things long before he got his hands on the Cowl.

I do wish I had given him a first name. The comics didn't leave me much to work with there.

**DEATHSTROKE:**

**NAME:** Slade Wilson

**AGE:** 58 (Abilities retard aging)

**OCCUPATION: **Former soldier. Full-time mercenary.

**ABILITIES: **Slade's mind has been enhanced to use 90% of its full potential. Besides enhancing his mental and strategic abilities, this has also pushed his body past normal human limitations, giving him enhanced strength, agility, stamina, and a limited healing factor.

**SKILLS: **As a soldier, Slade was trained in numerous strategies and tactics, as well as armed and unarmed combat. He has since mastered several more forms of martial arts and added a veritable arsenal of weapons to his repertoire.

**WEAPONS: **While Deathstroke is skilled with almost any weapon imaginable, the ones he usually carries on his person include a semi-automatic gun, several handguns, a bo-staff with laser-firing capabilities, a sword, and multiple explosives and extra ammunition.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **My Deathstroke was a very deliberate fusing of two interpretations: he has the personality of the cartoons' Slade, but the backstory and occupation of the Marv and George's comic Deathstroke. In a way, he was the only villain to follow the same rule as the Teen Titans (change one event in their past and see how it changes their personality—in this case, let's make the comics Deathstroke a complete sociopath and see how that changes things).

Deathstroke was definitely my favorite villain to write, and although I pretty much like everything I did with him, I do feel like I played him a tad too silly during his first appearances—that said, I played everyone a little broader in the early chapters. Hopefully it's a sign of my maturing writing style.

Deathstroke is interesting because he's really not all that powerful of a villain, but he still gives the Titans a ton of trouble. He should _never_ be underestimated. If he ever does actually manage to escape from prison, I know _exactly_ what his next move would be…

**JERICHO:**

**NAME:** Joseph Wilson

**AGE:** 17

**OCCUPATION: **Former brainwashed mercenary.

**ABILITIES: **Jericho can possess the body of anybody that he makes eye contact with. While in their body he can also channel their skills and, with enough time and concentration, even access some of their memories.

**SKILLS: **Jericho is an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, trained in multiple martial arts. He's also a skilled musician, artist, and writer.

**WEAPONS: **Jericho has been trained in the use of nearly every lethal weapon imaginable, but besides the occasional shuriken prefers not to use them, and flat-out refuses to fire a gun.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **I felt bad making Jericho an antagonist when he was one of the premiere Titans for years, but he just fit in my story this way. Even despite all that, I still tried to display his good attributes, such as his artistry and how he won't kill anyone or use a gun even when under mind-control.

The one real change I made to Jericho was giving him the ability to talk when possessing someone's body—in the comics, he could only do this if the person he was possessing was knocked unconscious, which never made sense to me. At one point I thought that he didn't know how to use the vocal cords of someone he possessed, but this didn't make sense, cause now only had Jericho spoken as a child, but he could talk when his host was unconscious. Are we to believe that Jericho couldn't talk when possessing someone because their will overpowered him, but only in the area of speech? I dunno. I got rid of it in order to give Jericho a chance to talk a little more.

I also got rid of his schmaltzy 80s costume and hair and put him in the fancier duds Geoff Johns and Tony Daniel gave him when they resurrected him a few years ago.

**RAVAGER:**

**NAME:** Rose Wilson

**AGE:** 15

**OCCUPATION: **Former brainwashed mercenary.

**ABILITIES: **Precognition; the more adrenaline that flows through Rose's system, the more often her visions occur and the more accurate they are. Most of Rose's visions are short term, allowing her to predict her opponent's moves in battle, but occasionally they allow her to peer farther into the future, though these visions are usually more vague.

**SKILLS: **Rose has been trained in multiple martial arts, both armed and unarmed.

**WEAPONS: **Rose is trained to use nearly every lethal weapon imaginable, but her weapons of choice are swords (she carries four at a time) and shuriken.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **I obviously changed a lot about Rose's background (making her the child of Slade and Adeline instead of Slade and Sweet Lili [and getting rid of Grant Wison in the process], having her raised by Slade instead of meeting him as a teenager, skipping over her years as a Titan and going straight to her crazed mind-control years), and again, it's because she better fit the story as a pawn of Slade. Her characterization in this story is largely based off her wild-child reputation, but in the future I'd like to be able to write a more complex version of Rose. She's actually one of my favorite Titans, believe it or not; I loved when she was added to the team and even enjoyed what McKeever did with her over on the Terror Titans book. I think Rose as a good guy/anti-hero is more interesting than Rose as a villain, but fortunately, I've already sent her and Joe on the path to salvation/redemption.

**WINTERGREEN:**

**AGE:** 70

**OCCUPATION: **Former soldier. Full-time mercenary.

**ABILITIES: **N/A

**SKILLS: **Wintergreen was trained by both the American and British military and has extensive strategic and hand-to-hand and weapons training, although Deathstroke would classify Wintergreen's greatest skills as his unflinching loyalty and obedience.

**WEAPONS: **Although Wintergreen has extensive weapons training, at this age he usually carries only a handgun, relying on Deathstroke and his family for protection.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **By changing Slade's backstory I accidentally made Wintergreen a much worse person—why would he not only stick by but actively aid someone so despicable, someone who has practically zero good qualities? Was he fooled by Slade's one good act of rescuing Wintergreen, which was likely more of a ruse to win over Wintergreen than a genuine act of affection? I'm really not sure what's going on in Wintergreen's head, which is probably why he was more of an afterthought/prop for me. It'd be interesting to find out.

**THE FEARSOME FIVE:**

**PSIMON:** (See Mr. Loren Jupiter)

**JINX:**

**NAME:** Unknown.

**AGE:** 16

**OCCUPATION: **Juvenile delinquent and supervillain.

**ABILITIES: **Jinx claims to be "bad luck"; she can fire pink energy blasts that act as hexes, causing various disastrous effects wherever they land.

**SKILLS: **Jinx nurses a trained cynicism and is an aspiring poet.

**WEAPONS: **N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **The Fearsome Five were mostly in the story for filler/fun, so I didn't get a chance to characterize her much (despite her being the most complex member of the Five in the cartoon), but I did at least try to show her Gothic obsession with death and the afterlife. I wish I had shown a little more creativity with her hexes; if I ever use her again, I'll give more a more fun environment to fight in and hopefully find more to do with them.

**GIZMO:**

**NAME:** Unknown

**AGE:** 12

**OCCUPATION: **Juvenile delinquent and supervillain.

**ABILITIES: **Genius level IQ.

**SKILLS: **Gizmo is a technological genius and can pretty much build anything he imagines if given the right time and equipment. He's also an adept programmer and hacker.

**WEAPONS: **Gizmo is at all times armed with the Gizmopack G1200, a backpack equipped with a size regulator that can shrink and enlarge anything attached to it. The Gizmopack is equipped with over 1200 weapons the size of a pin that can be enlarged and used at any time, such as a jetpack with wings, missile launchers, energy rifles, metallic spider-limbs, and much more. He also usually has other weapons hidden across his costume, such as grenades.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Yeah, this little pipsqueak is straight out of the animated series, what with his constant annoying catchphrases and nearly identical appearance and weapons. In fact, the entire Fearsome Five is based more on their animated incarnations than the comics, and that goes for several reasons. Part of it is that I'm just more familiar with the animated versions, and part of it is that the animated Fivers have more lively, cartoonish personalities, and that was _perfect_ for the quick, limited time they spent in this story. I dunno, honestly, when I think of the Fearsome/Hive Five, I think of the animated versions first.

About the only change I made to Gizmo was explaining how he managed to fit so many weapons into his little backpack, and the idea of shrinking or miniaturizing weapons seems to have been an [unintentional] reoccurring theme throughout the story, as Bumblebee and Cyborg talk about it to some extent as well.

**MAMMOTH:**

**NAME:** Unknown.

**AGE:** 15

**OCCUPATION: **Juvenile delinquent and supervillain.

**ABILITIES: **Mammoth's body is super dense, making him hard to move and even harder to hurt, although his head is much more vulnerable than the rest of his body. His strength is many times greater than a normal human, and he also has enhanced reflexes and a personality more bestial than human.

**SKILLS: **N/A

**WEAPONS: **N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Mammoth is angry and rather dumb…there wasn't much more time for me to do anything else with his personality, but honestly, it worked pretty well for what I wanted to use him for. And hey!, at least he wasn't going on about his sister every five panels.

In terms of powers, I kind of changed them around until he was a mess. In the cartoon he was just super strong, but that wasn't very much fun. In the comics Mammoth seemed to be ultra-dense, unmovable and largely invulnerable, but then I never understood how the Titans would beat him. They'd be whaling on him and he'd just go from feeling nothing to being knocked out cold. So in my story I decided to make his head a weak point (it's still super durable, just nowhere near as invulnerable as his body) in order to make his defeat more logical, but I have no idea why his head is a weak spot. Oh well…

**BILLY NUMEROUS:**

**NAME:** Billy. Last name unknown.

**AGE:** 14

**OCCUPATION: **Juvenile delinquent and supervillain.

**ABILITIES: **Billy has the ability to duplicate himself instantly—although Billy has yet to reach a limit on the amount of duplicates he can make at once, it has to lie somewhere in the thousands. His duplicates can think and act of their own accord, but are not a real people, and when they are knocked out they simply disappear with a pop—this will also happen if one of the duplicates tries to wander too far from the original and live his own life. Billy can retract any of his duplicates back into himself at any time as well.

**SKILLS: **Billy plays a mean banjo.

**WEAPONS: **N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **Billy Numerous is another character who I find a lot of fun. He's literally his own best friend and is always hanging out with one or two of his copies; how funny is that? I went a little darker with his redneck stereotypes (and I don't think I even realized it at the time, wow), that was a little weird, but other than that, writing this guy with this thick Southern accent who basically talks to himself all the time was hilarious.

As for why I chose to use Billy over Shimmer, I already discussed that in the Commentary, go check it out if it's a question you had.

**MR. LOREN JUPITER:**

**AGE:** 45 (Deceased)

**OCCUPATION: **Struggling author turned television director and manager and full-time supervillain.

**ABILITIES: **Trigon the Terrible granted Jupiter prodigious psionic abilities. He was telepathic, capable of reading others' minds and manipulating their thoughts, bending their will to his command. He was a powerful telekinetic, capable of mentally moving objects down to even their very atoms. He could also fire blasts of pure psionic energy.

**SKILLS: **Jupiter was only a mediocre writer, but he was an expert at manipulation and at generating hype and publicity.

**WEAPONS: **Jupiter eventually attained the Cowl of Blood and added its power to his own [see Brother Blood/Professor Sebastian's profile for the Cowl's abilities]. He was also armed with a wide array of media contacts and publicity, which are more powerful than they sound.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** So in the commentary I mentioned that Mr. Jupiter went through several back-stories, and that's very true. While I think I may be forgetting one or two, here's the general story. When I wrote the first chapter without planning too much out, I think Jupiter was just a normal TV executive who was manipulating things behind the scene only to raise ratings with no ulterior motives, and I don't remember to what extent I thought he'd go or if he was yet allied with Raven.

In the few months break I took between Chapters One and Two to plot out the series with more detail, I decided to make Jupiter Brother Blood. Not give him the Cowl like I ended up doing, but just straight up _make him_ Brother Blood, as in he had been a supervillain fighting the Justice League before forming the Titans, and the Titans would be his way of regaining enough power to resume his reign of terror. Raven would have been his pawn, and eventually usurp his power to unleash Trigon. I didn't like Brother Blood very much, and at the time I didn't want to base a whole arc around him (as I discuss in the Commentary, I originally wanted to have a Challenge arc between the Titans and Titans East instead), and this seemed like a perfect compromise.

But then I realized I wanted/needed a Brother Blood arc, and Jupiter evolved into the character he is now, and I'm very glad he did, because I believe this works best.

Jupiter was a ton of fun, because he was this fantastic mix of a huge nerd and this tremendous, smug douchebag of a guy, and he was the perfect villain to see get punched in the face. As I said, I don't know whether his death was the perfect karmic death or if he deserved more suffering. Oh well, doesn't matter now…one way or another, he paid for what he did.

**TRIGON THE TERRIBLE:**

**AGE:** Eternal (Deceased)

**OCCUPATION: **The source of all evil.

**ABILITIES: **Trigon's base power is practically unparalleled, and his power grows exponentially the longer he exists. He can fire destructive beams of pure energy from his eyes that can crack a planet in half, and can also release a wave capable of transforming and petrifying anything it touches in an instant. His great power can also be manifested in numerous other ways, but Trigon lacks the imagination and the need to fully utilize the possibilities.

**SKILLS: **Destruction.

**WEAPONS: **N/A

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Trigon had to be the ultimate evil. I wanted him to be inhuman, above human morality, knowing nothing but himself and destruction as an absolute. So the idea of Trigon being some alternate reality warlord was out. In terms of power he needed to be untouchable. If he hit a Titan, they needed to be dead or near death. I didn't want to play around with Trigon. The whole point was that he was completely out of the Titans' league (hell, he was completely out of the _Justice League's _league), but they fought back anyway because of all that they had learned.

Given all that, I think I was able to give Trigon a surprising amount of personality, or at least the little character arc of him growing from this distant, impassionate creature to someone who vehemently wanted to see the Titans die and had personal feelings towards them, which is pretty much unprecedented. That's about all you can do with Trigon, and it was a lot of fun to pull off. Trigon did his job and did it fantastically, giving the Titans the ultimate enemy to show us just how they had grown and all that they had learned.

**All right guys, thank you so much for supporting this story and supporting **_**me**_** and for sticking around even when I took so long to update that I should have been arrested. I could never have finished without your words and comments and they mean the world to me.**

**I don't know when I'll be back with another fan-fiction, but in the meantime, I am currently working on a four-season outline for a Flash animated series, which is basically an abbreviated fan-fiction of its own, so if any of you want to check it out, there's a link on my profile (also, if any of you have a Tumblr, there's a link to mine on my profile as well, I'd love to hear from you.) **

**Again, thank all of you so much! This has been a wonderful experience!**

**-Pivitor**


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